The killing of a foreign national in Durban has sharpened the economic risks hanging over one of the continent’s principal destination economies, as a wave of anti-immigrant unrest in South Africa exacts a mounting toll on businesses, traders and workers.
Police said the man, unidentified and believed to be in his late 30s or early 40s, was first approached by two men by the roadside before a crowd of about 50 people assaulted him. He was pronounced dead at the scene. Provincial police spokesperson Robert Netshiunda told the BBC that investigators cannot speculate on the motive and that more information would be shared once verified. A murder investigation is under way.
The violence carries direct costs for employers and cross-border commerce. Earlier this month, shops and cars were set on fire in Durban and in Soweto, near Johannesburg, destroying property and unsettling local trade. The government has urged demonstrators to act peacefully while accepting the need for immigration reforms, and says tens of thousands of foreign nationals have been deported or repatriated since it launched a crackdown earlier this year.
Meanwhile, one of the groups behind the protests, March and March, had initially set a deadline of 30 June for all undocumented migrants to leave the country. Several protests were held ahead of that deadline, with reports of attacks on people from other African countries. Those reports prompted Zimbabwe, Nigeria and Ghana to take steps to repatriate their citizens amid fears of further violence, a movement of people with immediate consequences for households that rely on earnings from South Africa’s labour market.
Diplomatic friction has added to the pressure. Nigeria accused South African authorities of responsibility for the deaths of two of its citizens that month. Ghana confirmed the death of a citizen, Bashiru Isak, a father of three who was fatally shot in Cape Town during demonstrations targeting foreign nationals. His death led to a diplomatic row with South Africa, which said the scale of the violence had been exaggerated.
Jacinta Ngobese-Zuma, one of the leaders of the March and March movement, denied that she was xenophobic. “We can’t be living with these people for so many years and now when we say it is too much, it is enough, we are told that we are xenophobic,” she told the BBC’s Focus on Africa programme.
The economic backdrop is stark. South Africa has struggled with xenophobic attacks for nearly two decades; in 2008, more than 60 people were killed and tens of thousands displaced during widespread attacks on foreign nationals. The latest violence comes against a backdrop of widespread poverty, deep inequality and unemployment affecting roughly a third of the workforce. Migrants are frequently accused of taking jobs, contributing to crime and placing pressure on public services, although researchers say such sweeping claims are not supported by evidence.
For investors and market-watchers, the pattern matters: labour-market scarcity and weak growth have become the fuel for unrest that damages property, disrupts trading and strains relations with neighbouring economies that supply workers to South Africa. Despite its economic difficulties, South Africa remains one of the continent’s main destinations for migrants seeking employment, safety and better opportunities, meaning the country’s labour market and its social stability remain closely tied.
Police say the motive for the Durban killing has yet to be established, and the investigation continues.