"Come and fetch your people" — that's what protesters told regional leaders in Durban this week, as South Africa faces fresh shame over anti-migrant violence.

Well, it's been a tense few weeks in South Africa, and now it's gone regional.

President Cyril Ramaphosa on Monday called for a joint effort to tackle migration to South Africa, after a wave of populist protests demanding undocumented foreign nationals leave by June 30th sparked a mass exodus.

According to reports, more than 176,000 people have left in recent weeks. Some went of their own accord; others were deported or bussed home under government repatriation schemes. Malawi, Mozambique and Zimbabwe — all members of the 16-nation Southern African Development Community (SADC) — made up the bulk of those who departed.

As reported by cbinews.tv, Ramaphosa briefed the SADC summit in Durban about what he called the "challenge of migration".

"We thanked countries in our region for their understanding of the challenges that we faced and, in some respects, continue to face," he said in his closing address. "We also expressed regret at what has befallen us as a country. We expressed a wish that we should all work together to address the challenge of migration."

It's a challenge with deep roots.

South Africa remains the continent's wealthiest economy and a magnet for migrants — more than 3 million immigrants, about 5% of the population, live in the country. Most come from neighbouring SADC states — more than 63% by some estimates.

But the country is battling an unemployment crisis. The official rate stood at 32% in Q1 2026, rising to 32.7% in the latest Quarterly Labour Force Survey, with 8.14 million people jobless. Youth unemployment is even higher, and that frustration is often directed at foreign nationals accused of "taking jobs".

This is not new. Sporadic waves of xenophobic vigilante attacks date back to shortly after white-minority rule ended in 1994. The 2008 attacks killed more than 60 people, and monitoring group Xenowatch at Wits University has recorded over 430 xenophobic killings since 2008.

The latest flare-up has been driven by groups like Operation Dudula — dudula means "to force out" or "to remove by force" in isiZulu. Founded in Soweto in 2021, the movement has formalised earlier vigilante tactics: raiding foreign-owned shops, checking IDs in the streets, and even blockading hospitals to stop suspected foreigners from entering. Despite a High Court order in November 2025 prohibiting it, the group continued blocking migrant access to health facilities.

The mood on Monday was stark. About 300 anti-migrant protesters marched to the summit venue in Durban as helicopters and drones circled overhead and officers on horseback marshalled the crowd.

"We are here to tell you to come and fetch your people who are here in South Africa illegally," said march leader Jacinta Ngobese-Zuma, one of the figures behind the recent protests.

Ramaphosa admitted at a public lecture on Friday that South Africa was "deeply concerned and ashamed that nationals from other countries have in recent months been subjected to discrimination and ill-treatment."

At least four migrants were killed in the latest violence, according to South African police, though some foreign governments say the toll is higher. The handling of the crisis has drawn criticism beyond SADC too, notably from Ghana and Nigeria.

Having taken over the rotating chairship of SADC at the summit, South Africa has now called for an Africa-wide conference to address migration — an acknowledgement that fences, deadlines and forced removals won't fix a problem that is regional, economic, and decades in the making.

Attribution: Original reporting via cbinews.tv. Additional background and data sourced from AFP, Stats SA and SADC briefing.

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