President Cyril Ramaphosa addresses the nation at the Union Buildings in Pretoria. (Photo: Siyabulela Duda / GCIS) Foreigners continued to leave South Africa over the weekend, while mounting xenophobic tensions led to President Cyril Ramaphosa addressing the nation on Sunday, 7 June 2026. He announced plans to tighten the country’s borders and clamp down on undocumented foreign nationals.
On Saturday and Sunday, chartered flights carried Ghanaians wishing to leave South Africa to their home country.
This comes as anti-foreigner marches continued to take place around South Africa, the most recent on Saturday in Daveyton, Gauteng, where hundreds of people demanded that foreigners depart the country by 30 June.
/file/attachments/orphans/RC29MLA25NH3_244074.jpg "Displaced migrants shelter in a hall after anti-immigrant protests on 3 June 2026 in Kleinmond, Western Cape. (Photo: Reuters / Esa Alexander)")
In the Western Cape, a statement released over the weekend by Overstrand municipal manager Dean O’Neill said three buses left from the Kleinmond Town Hall on Friday to take undocumented foreign nationals to the Lindela Repatriation Centre. Two buses departed from Gansbaai to take undocumented foreigners to the same facility.
In Hermanus, O’Neill said 38 people displaced by anti-foreigner protests were living on the municipal farm. He said that a bus sent by the Mozambican Embassy picked up citizens from that country who wished to depart.
O’Neill said municipal facilities would not be reopened to accommodate people because the venues would now be prepared for the voters’ registration weekend of 20 and 21 June 2026.
Reuters reported that 1,094 Nigerians had registered interest in a voluntary return home from South Africa after xenophobic attacks, according to Nigerian foreign ministry spokesperson Kimiebi Ebienfa on Friday.
The screening by foreign ministry officials from both countries and South African immigration and police concluded on Saturday, with those cleared to be repatriated and final numbers and flights set thereafter, Ebienfa told Reuters.
According to Reuters, Ebienfa said South African authorities had agreed to waive penalties for visa violations such as overstays, though individuals facing criminal charges would not be eligible to leave.
Meanwhile, the Ministry for Foreign Affairs in Malawi confirmed that 150 Malawians had left the Western Cape by bus over the weekend. They had volunteered to be repatriated after being displaced in violent anti-foreigner protests in Mossel Bay.
The Bitou Municipality said in a statement on Sunday that a compliance operation at spaza shops in Kwanokuthula led to the arrest of several undocumented foreign nationals who had been sent to Knysna for further processing by the relevant immigration authorities.
“Bitou Municipality reminds residents not to engage in hostility, intimidation or vigilantism against foreign nationals. Law enforcement agencies are responsible for enforcing immigration laws and addressing related matters through the appropriate legal processes,” the statement said.
Ramaphosa’s address
It was against this backdrop of continued simmering xenophobic tension that Ramaphosa addressed the nation on Sunday.
During the address, the President admitted that the government took responsibility for its failures in controlling illegal migration. However, he also warned South Africans not to take the law into their own hands.
“I must make it clear that only the authorised government officials may act against violations of the law, including violations of our immigration laws. No other person is allowed, for example, to confront someone in the street to demand proof of nationality,” he said.
“We know that South Africans are not xenophobic as there is no space for xenophobia, racism, sexism, Afrophobia or any other forms of intolerance in South Africa.”
“We will act against forces who are exploiting the concerns of our people about illegal immigration to further their own political, personal or criminal agendas. We will not be fooled or influenced by social media campaigns that spread misinformation, fake news and lies about foreign nationals,” he said.
The organisation March and March announced a protest it labelled the “Benoni Shutdown” within an hour of the president’s address. The protest was scheduled to take place at 3pm on Monday. Referring to an issue that Ramaphosa promised to address, the organisation’s flyer reads: “Driving a truck is not a scarce skill.”
“To address violations of immigration and labour laws in the transport sector, we are implementing a plan that has been developed with the logistics and freight industry and labour organisations,” Ramaphosa told the nation.
/file/attachments/orphans/WhatsApp-Image-2026-06-07-at-1852_392780.jpg "President Cyril Ramaphosa addresses the nation at the Union Buildings in Pretoria. The President addresses the nation on the government's management approach to illegal migration and the recent surge in protests against foreign nationals. South Africa. (Photo: Siyabulela Duda / GCIS)")
‘Enforcement weaknesses’
He continued: “There have been weaknesses in the way migration has been managed. There have been weaknesses in rigorous and focused enforcement. There have been instances of corruption. There have been gaps in our systems that have undermined public confidence. South Africans are entitled to expect better. We accept that responsibility, and we are taking decisive action to correct these shortcomings,” he said.
Among measures he announced are: The expedited phasing out of the green ID document, as it has been identified as a major enabler for those wanting fake papers to stay in South Africa.
He also indicated that the government would “end the abuse of the Traffic Registration Number, which foreign nationals require to register or buy vehicles, but which is being used as a form of identification.”
This, Ramaphosa promised, would be done within three months.
‘Loopholes’
“The laws that regulate immigration in South Africa are fragmented and often contradictory. They allow legal loopholes that are exploited by undocumented migrants. We are addressing these loopholes.
“The government has finalised the National Labour Migration Policy, which proposes maximum quotas for the employment of documented foreign nationals, and deals with the prosecutions of employers hiring undocumented workers.
“The Employment Services Amendment Bill has been approved by Cabinet for introduction to Parliament. This empowers the minister to set quotas in respect of the employment of foreign nationals in any economic sector or occupational category.
He said penalties for employing undocumented foreigners would be increased.
“The South African Police Service, Home Affairs and Department of Employment and Labour are increasing inspections targeting companies employing undocumented foreign nationals,” he said.
As part of rebuilding the labour enforcement capacity, the Department of Employment and Labour had launched the phased recruitment of 10,000 inspectors for this financial year, Ramaphosa said.
“We are going to increase the penalties, including imprisonment, for employers who violate the Immigration Act. We cannot have a situation where employers who, after being charged and found guilty of violating our laws, merely pay a fine and continue employing undocumented foreign nationals whom they exploit,” he continued.
The President said the government would prioritise the phased relocation of refugee reception centres to border posts, starting with the Tshwane centre this year.
Ramaphosa said that in the past year alone, the Border Management Authority had managed to intercept and stop more than 450,000 people attempting to enter South Africa illegally.
“We will set up dedicated courts to deal with immigration to speedily support the deportation of undocumented migrants,” he said.
/file/attachments/orphans/RC2EHLAVWW1L_103363.jpg "A man draped in a Ghanaian flag with compatriots at OR Tambo International Airport in Kempton Park, Gauteng, as Ghana repatriates hundreds of its citizens on 27 May 2026. (Photo: Reuters / Siphiwe Sibeko)")
DA leader Geordin Hill-Lewis said he welcomed the President’s message.
“We should all reject those who stoke hatred and division, or who tacitly encourage vigilantism. Our response to legitimate concerns around illegal immigration must demonstrate the best of what our country is.
“Those concerns arise out of an economy that has not meaningfully grown for far too long, leaving people poorer and poorer. That is where our attention must focus – on the reforms needed to speed up growth and get people into work,” he said. DM