--- title: "Businesses looted, children traumatised — anti-migrant protesters turn on foreign and local traders" description: "Police described the vast majority of 30 June-related protests as peaceful. Those that turned violent had serious consequences." type: "NewsArticle" publisher: "Daily Maverick" site: "https://www.dailymaverick.co.za" section: "XENOPHOBIC UNREST" authors: - name: "Lerato Mutsila" url: "https://www.dailymaverick.co.za/author/lerato-mutsila/" - name: "Reitumetse Pilane" url: "https://www.dailymaverick.co.za/author/reitumetse-pilane/" - name: "Bheki C. Simelane" url: "https://www.dailymaverick.co.za/author/bhekicsimelane/" canonical_url: "https://www.dailymaverick.co.za/article/2026-07-01-from-durban-to-soweto-anti-migrant-protests-spark-isolated-looting-of-foreign-and-local-traders/" published: "2026-07-01T23:10:43" updated: "2026-07-02T10:12:24" lang: "en-ZA" word_count: 1331 --- # Businesses looted, children traumatised — anti-migrant protesters turn on foreign and local traders > Police described the vast majority of 30 June-related protests as peaceful. Those that turned violent had serious consequences. By Lerato Mutsila, Reitumetse Pilane and Bheki C. Simelane · Published 2 July 2026, 01:10 SAST · Updated 2 July 2026, 12:12 SAST ## Key points - Anti-migrant protests on 30 June sparked violence and looting in KwaDabeka, KZN, with shops owned by foreign nationals targeted amid a call for undocumented migrants to leave South Africa. - Violence escalated in KwaDabeka, despite police assurances of peaceful demonstrations, leading to extensive damage to businesses and the deployment of the South African National Defence Force (SANDF). - Traders in Soweto also faced robberies from marchers, with South African vendors reporting the theft of goods and personal belongings during the protests. - The aftermath included more than 900 arrests, but incidents of violence caused shockwaves through communities, highlighting growing tensions concerning migration ahead of the local elections. ## Content March and March’s 30 June mass protest calling for all undocumented migrants to leave South Africa may have concluded. However, the consequences of the anti-migrant groups’ mass mobilisation against foreign nationals are still playing out in Durban, KwaZulu-Natal and Gauteng. On Tuesday, 30 June, while much of the attention was on the mostly peaceful protest that drew thousands in the Durban CBD, looting broke out less than 24km from the city centre in the township of KwaDabeka. On Wednesday, KwaDabeka residents told Daily Maverick that a group of locals began targeting shops owned by foreign nationals on Tuesday afternoon, while the main demonstration was in full swing in town. By nightfall, the looting intensified, with the local SaveMore, Superseven shop and a South African-owned dentistry targeted. ![Felix-Night looting](https://cdn.dailymaverick.co.za/i/KddPkxeotRT8U0w2HOX1IEKciE0=/200x100/smart/filters:strip_exif\(\)/file/attachments/orphans/0G0A5141_446924.jpg) *SANDF members patrol damaged shops in KwaDabeka, Durban, after several supermarkets were looted on 30 June 2026. (Photo: Felix Dlangamandla)* Sanele Ncane, the KwaDabeka SaveMore security guard who was present when the unrest unfolded, told Daily Maverick that looters came to the shop demanding that foreign owners leave. “They were saying, ‘We are coming here, we are Zulu.’ They told us if we don’t want trouble we must move out of the way. There was nothing we could do but watch it happen,” Ncane said. The shop manager, who identified himself only as Mohammed, said that though he was from Somalia, he had lived legally in KaDabeka for 11 years. “We closed the store so people would not loot and we could be safe. We were told that the protests would be peaceful, but all of a sudden, we turned around and this happened,” Mohammed said. ![Reitumetse-xenophobia-aftermath](https://cdn.dailymaverick.co.za/i/P6ANtYtLeCVs74DTJ8pWZ6QDW60=/200x100/smart/filters:strip_exif\(\)/file/attachments/orphans/6I1A6220_814837.jpg) *A supermarket owner, who gave his name as Mohammed, outside his looted store in KwaDabeka, Durban, on 1 July 2026. (Photo: Felix Dlangamandla)* He said the shop employed several locals, but now with extensive infrastructure damage and inventory losses, it was not clear if they could open again. The police were patrolling the area, but the number of shops being targeted outweighed the number of officers deployed. The South African National Defence Force (SANDF) was eventually deployed to quell the unrest, but the looters had already caused extensive damage. Windows were damaged, ATMs and fridges destroyed and shelves were picked clean. The ground outside the shops was soiled with spoiled food. [HATE ON PARADE ‘Political project’: March and March signals long-term anti-migrant agenda in lead-up to elections June 30, 2026 ![Image](https://cdn.dailymaverick.co.za/i/7OI1LlybyBtO_wMKNVPLRHdxIdQ=/450x0/smart/file/attachments/orphans/6I1A6117_506230.jpg)](https://www.dailymaverick.co.za/article/2026-06-30-political-project-march-and-march-signals-long-term-anti-migrant-agenda-in-lead-up-to-elections/) During a media briefing on Wednesday, acting National Police Commissioner Puleng Dimpane said more than 900 people were arrested during demonstrations across the country, which were described as largely peaceful. “The majority of those arrested were illegal foreigners and \[for\] looting as a result of law enforcement operations conducted alongside the protests. Some were arrested for public violence, some for harbouring illegal immigrants, business robbery at spaza shops,” said Dimpane. ### Death and live rounds While police leadership described the protests as largely peaceful, their aftermath was also visible in Gauteng. In Alexandra, Johannesburg, 21-year-old Siphesihle Mncemeleni was shot dead around 8pm on Tuesday during the unrest. While some reports linked the incident to looting in the area and with some claiming the deceased was participating in the looting, his family said he was killed while visiting a friend to charge his phone. Daily Maverick visited the scene, but residents from the area were reluctant to discuss the incident, with some saying they knew nothing about it and others saying they were disappointed by reports linking Mncemeleni to looting. [Read more Johannesburg counts the cost as xenophobic violence still simmers July 1, 2026 ![Image](https://cdn.dailymaverick.co.za/i/HE0lOxp8BrT9MRYg65x-ePtJ138=/450x0/smart/file/attachments/orphans/XAR_Evict-25_342047.jpg)](https://www.dailymaverick.co.za/article/2026-07-01-johannesburg-counts-the-cost-as-xenophobic-violence-still-simmers/) In Delville, Germiston, Daily Maverick witnessed demonstrators on Tuesday who conducted illegal documentation inspections and forced removals from private homes. People suspected of being foreign nationals were forcibly removed from their residences before being handed over to police, with demonstrators insisting that officers verify their immigration status. Several of those targeted by the civilian arrests were then seen being placed into police vehicles, before the police later moved to take control of the situation. ![xeno-women-chidlren](https://cdn.dailymaverick.co.za/i/P4A_Uow7g1h7T-bADYzPVOQC_kM=/200x100/smart/filters:strip_exif\(\)/file/attachments/orphans/Multiple-people-were-detained-by-SAPS-and-private-security-after-entering-a-home-in-Delville-without-permission-intimidating-residents-and-inciting-violence_913958.jpg) *Multiple people were detained by SAPS and private security after they entered a home in Delville without permission, intimidating residents and inciting violence. (Photo: Daniélle Schaafsma)* ![Reitumetse-xenophobia-aftermath](https://cdn.dailymaverick.co.za/i/bFdq9BGem-0SPdQWpEFEUpemVdc=/200x100/smart/filters:strip_exif\(\)/file/attachments/orphans/Police-chasing-away-demonstrators-in-Delville-Germiston-telling-them-they-are-not-authorised-to-be-questioning-and-intimidating-people-around-their-nationality-Photo_-Danielle-Schaafsm_211820.jpg) *Police chase demonstrators away in Delville, Germiston, informing them that they were not authorised to question and intimidate people over their nationality. (Photo: Daniélle Schaafsma)* According to security personnel, a fire broke out on Tuesday evening in the Ramaphosa informal settlement in Ekurhuleni, and some residents looted properties throughout the night. “They were shooting live rounds at us, but we used \[rubber bullets\]. We went back and forth until about 2am,” said private security officer Jarque Graaff, adding that small groups continued to gather on Wednesday morning, requiring fatigued law enforcement and private security personnel to remain on high alert while trying to establish the purpose of the gatherings and whether they would escalate. Daily Maverick was unable to independently verify the claims that live rounds were fired at security staff in Ramaphosa informal settlement. [XENOPHOBIC UNREST Widespread violence is avoided after police apply lessons from Marikana and July 2021 riots June 30, 2026 ![Image](https://cdn.dailymaverick.co.za/i/k3BiwMuQaxShxi06cw3F1zT4J80=/450x0/smart/file/attachments/orphans/P10_679755.jpg)](https://www.dailymaverick.co.za/article/2026-06-30-widespread-violence-is-avoided-after-police-apply-lessons-from-marikana-and-july-2021-riots/) ### **Marchers turn on South African Sowetans** In Soweto, South African traders in Kliptown were furious after marchers allegedly robbed them and looted their stock on Tuesday. Thirty-six-year-old Pfarelo Tshirumbula, a trader at the Kliptown Fresh Produce Market, told Daily Maverick on Wednesday that her stock was looted and her cellphone stolen by a group of marchers. “I tried to defend myself from the robbery, but they overpowered me and took my cellphone,” said Tshirumbula. “I helplessly watched them fighting over my phone after they took it from me,” Tshirumbula said. [ON THE GROUND REPORTS LIVE | Xenophobic unrest: July 2021 repeat avoided, but March and March say fight continues June 29, 2026 ![Image](https://cdn.dailymaverick.co.za/i/sHrc6mm3lPvWdLcVap7kTlDXcDQ=/450x0/smart/file/attachments/orphans/P2_969348.jpg)](https://www.dailymaverick.co.za/article/2026-06-29-live-xenophobic-unrest-south-africas-30-june-marches-as-they-happen/) “I had this stick with me because I planned to join the march when it gets here, because the marchers usually carry some sticks,” a furious young Tsonga woman who did not want to reveal her identity said. “I ended up using the stick to defend my stock, but they took most of it, bags, onions, beetroot, potatoes, carrots. I am still very angry. Why did they steal from me when I also support them and had made plans to join the march when they pass here?” “Why did they attack and steal from us?” she asked. “I ended up using the stick to protect the rest of my stock. That is why I was able to open today.” “If they were hungry, I would have given them if they asked, not to destroy my business like that,” the young Tsonga woman said. “They took my bag, which had money, my cellphone and my ID, and they looted all my stock and left me with only spinach,” she said. ![Bheki/ Soweto illegal immigration march](https://cdn.dailymaverick.co.za/i/1flKIUVScsBjC1lF9oHW-Keia_k=/200x100/smart/filters:strip_exif\(\)/file/attachments/orphans/SOWETOMARCH35_887434.jpg) *Police monitor the stalls of street vendors at the Kliptown Market in Soweto, Johannesburg, on Sunday, 28 June 2026, ahead of the 30 June protests. (Photo: Leon Sadiki)* Another trader, Flora Ngwenya, 52, said, “When they took my bag, I ran after the crowd, hoping to catch the thieves. I no longer cared about the money and phone, I was just praying to get my ID back, which was in a concealed pocket in the bag.” Ngwenya said when she finally caught up with the marchers who stole her bag, she found them emptying it. When she pleaded for her ID, they threw the bag at her and disappeared into the crowd. “I took it and went straight for the concealed pocket. Luckily, I found that my ID was still there,” said Ngwenya, who said that she was also beaten with sticks and still had swelling around her hip. “My child cried so badly when I was robbed because she witnessed it, and she is so traumatised,” Ngwenya said. ElisaChauke, 65, who is also Tsonga, said, “We want to know what we did wrong because we are South Africans and some of these children were waiting to join the march.” **DM**