A Malawian gardener received a chilling ultimatum to leave South Africa, a single case that reveals escalating vigilante threats and mounting fear among migrant communities.

Over the course of several months, anti-immigration rhetoric has intensified across South Africa. It has even reached the doorstep of Kaunga Nyirenda, a gardener from Malawi who lives in the Johannesburg suburb.

In the early days of June, two men delivered him a chilling ultimatum: leave the country now or face death.

When are you planning to leave the country? We want to fix our country. If you do not leave now, you will leave in a coffin, because after June 30 we do not need you

– Kaunga Nyirenda

Nyirenda’s experience reflects a broad wave of anti-immigrant sentiment. In recent weeks, protest groups and self-styled patrols, asserting the peacefulness of their actions, have staged demonstrations that eyewitnesses say have escalated into violent acts against foreign nationals – with flimsy claims about taking jobs, crime, and the burden on public services.

The South African government has rejected the so-called “deadline” set by groups for the departure of foreigners, fearing that it could lead to a serious flare-up at the end of the month.

One group – March & March – called for mass protests on Tuesday if its demands, notably “urgent and mass deportation of all illegal foreigners in the country,” are not met.

Role of the Authorities and the President’s Response

Ahead of the planned actions, President Cyril Ramaphosa warned that the government “will not allow any attempts to destabilize the country by anyone.”

He has repeatedly condemned attacks on foreign nationals, noting that they “do not reflect the views of the people of South Africa, nor do they align with the policies of our government.” Ramaphosa stressed that the perpetrators “exploit legitimate grievances under the false pretext of civic action” and that security forces are on heightened alert to respond to possible unrest.

Externally, rising tensions led the police to investigate several registered cases of assaults on foreigners, notably in Mossel Bay on the Western Cape coast, where two Mozambican nationals were killed in late May, and in an informal settlement dozens of structures were destroyed.

Additionally, investigations are underway in connection with the death of a Malawian man after protesters allegedly besieged the Pietermaritzburg metropolitan area, near Durban, and forced thousands of migrants to seek shelter in churches and mosques, according to state broadcaster SABC.

As the month drew to a close, migrant outflows continued, and fear of new pogroms spread among residents of poor neighborhoods and informal settlements.

It remains unclear how anti-migrant groups will react after the deadline. However, in one video posted on social media, a young man with a machete appeared, counting down the days to the deadline, heightening anxiety among migrants like Nyirenda.

Ideology and Influence of the Movements

The tension has intensified due to campaigns led by the March & March groups and Operation Dudula, whose name in Zulu roughly means “turn back” or “defend the border.”

Operation Dudula aimed to restrict foreign nationals’ access to private business, stopped people on the streets and checked documents, and sought to limit foreigners’ access to state hospitals.

Among other leaders is Nkosikhona Ndabandaba, known as Phakel’umthakathi. He has more than 1.7 million followers on Facebook and organized demonstrations with participants in traditional Zulu warrior attire; CNN noted that he became the “architect” of the June 30 deadline.

In one video he urges a Congolese man to leave South Africa, without asking whether he is here legally.

– Nkosikhona Ndabandaba

Subsequently, Ndabandaba told CNN that his campaign targets all illegal migrants, refuting claims that his supporters took part in violent acts and accusing other groups of fanning unrest.

According to the Border Control, more than 13,000 foreign nationals – about 9,000 Malawians, 3,000 from Zimbabwe, 900 Ghanaians, and 300 Nigerians – were either deported or voluntarily repatriated in the last two weeks.

Ramaphosa acknowledged the “turmoil of illegal migration” and said the government is working to solve the problem. He said that illegal migration strains public services and “crowds out the labor market,” allowing some employers to exploit cheaper labor. He warned that migrants should not be made the “scapegoats” for the country’s economic difficulties.

More than three decades after the end of apartheid – the system of racial discrimination that barred Black people and favored White people – South Africa still faces high unemployment, one of the world’s highest murder rates, and deep racial divides.

Aggressive actions against foreigners are not new to the country. According to the national statistical service, more than three million migrants live in the country, about 5% of the population, mostly from neighboring Southern African countries who came to work.

The unemployment rate in South Africa stood at 32% in the first quarter of 2026 after the loss of roughly 350,000 jobs, with youth hit the hardest, according to the statistical service.

Despite the challenges, the country remains one of Africa’s leading industrial hubs and continues to attract migrants seeking low-wage work in the domestic, security, and agricultural sectors.

André Duvenhage, head of the research center at North-West University, noted that migrants are often employed because they are willing to work for lower pay, and also because, as non-residents, they often do not have full protection of labor rights. They are also considered more disciplined workers compared with some citizens.

Anti-migrant tensions typically center on migrants from Zimbabwe, Mozambique, and Malawi, while there is hostility toward Ghanaians and Nigerians. Tone Irims, who runs solar companies in Nigeria and South Africa, told CNN that hostility is usually directed at “any suspected Black African migrant who lives and does business alongside poor Black South Africans,” and that violence is “extremely race- and class-oriented” – wealthier foreigners and the White population rarely become targets.

Recent tensions revived memories of the xenophobic attacks of 2008, which killed at least 62 people and forced thousands to leave their homes. Irims noted that South Africa’s economy remains heavily influenced by the wealthy White minority of Afrikaners, which leaves many Black South Africans with limited economic opportunities. He called it a paradox: migrants face the highest risk of xenophobia, but receive minimal international protection – while “a group of White South Africans, enjoying significant economic privilege and protected by elite private guards and fortified suburban infrastructure, receives expedited asylum abroad.”

Irims also mentioned the United States’ stance on relocating Afrikaners after President Donald Trump spoke of “genocide in South Africa,” and that “White farmers in private-sector zones suffer from land loss.”

For Malawian gardener Nyirenda, the protests are “rotten” given that they focus on Black Africans rather than the broader community. After 16 years living in South Africa, Nyirenda, 38, told CNN that he has decided to return to Malawi. “They have energy only for their fellow poor Black Africans,” he said. “Why confront a hungry person when those who have seized all your wealth will not count on them?”

The broader context suggests that anti-immigrant rhetoric turns migrants into convenient targets to highlight economic problems while exposing deep structural inequalities that remain in South Africa after decades of rights advocacy and pursuit of equality.