- Anti-immigration protests led by the group Operation Dudula have shifted to education centers, with reports of members forcibly removing African migrant children from classrooms in Pretoria.
- Protesters have issued fresh ultimatums, including demanding that South African women married to Nigerian nationals leave the country along with their spouses and children.
- The Nigerian Consulate in Johannesburg has confirmed the deaths of two Nigerians, Amaramiro Emmanuel and Ekpenyong Andrew, in separate incidents linked to the rising unrest.
The xenophobic crisis in South Africa has taken a harrowing turn as protesters began targeting the most vulnerable members of the migrant community’s schoolchildren.
Eko Hot Blog reports that members of the anti-immigration group Operation Dudula were recorded storming government facilities in Pretoria and disrupting schools, reportedly blocking African children of foreign descent from accessing education.
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Disturbing footage and eyewitness accounts shared on Tuesday depict a “new phase” of aggression.
In one instance, children and their parents were subjected to verbal abuse, with protesters shouting for them to return to their home countries.
Beyond the schools, the group has escalated its demands to target binational families, specifically calling for the expulsion of South African women married to Nigerians.
The Nigerian Citizens Association in South Africa (NICASA) has expressed deep alarm over the “normalization of hostility.” NICASA President Frank Onyekwelu appealed directly to President Bola Tinubu and the Nigerians in Diaspora Commission (NIDCOM) to engage in “strategic diplomacy” to protect Nigerian citizens.
NIDCOM has already issued safety advisories, urging Nigerian business owners in flashpoints like Durban and Cape Town to remain closed until the violence subsides.
While South African President Cyril Ramaphosa has urged foreign nationals to respect local laws, Nigeria’s Acting Ambassador to South Africa, Alexander Ajayi, stated that both governments are working to bring the situation under control.
However, the atmosphere remains tense for the diaspora community as the trauma of school-based harassment and the reality of recent killings continue to fuel widespread fear.
