Protest leaders in Durban have fixed a Sept. 30 deadline for undocumented migrants to leave South Africa and warned that failure to meet that date will lead to larger street actions. The demand follows weeks of public demonstrations that organisers say gathered pace earlier this year. Campaign figures framed the deadline as a point of escalation, signalling a planned mobilisation rather than a continuing series of sporadic protests.
March and March leader Sphelele Shinga told supporters organisers expected as many as 1.5 million people to join the next demonstration. “You should know that all the communities are gathering up again,” Shinga said. “They are waking up, they’re standing up for their home, standing up for their country.” Shinga added protesters planned to “write another history” on Sept. 30 by pressing for undocumented migrants to leave the country.
Organisers agreed to set a fixed date after months of occupying public spaces, citing safety concerns for those remaining on the streets. Several migrants and refugees at the demonstrations said they were waiting to be moved into temporary transport while their paperwork was checked, a process they described as necessary to avoid spending more nights outdoors. “We can’t keep sleeping on the streets forever as well. People have died because of sleeping on the street,” Princess Adjei, identified as a Ghanaian refugee, said.
Peace activists joined some actions to support people seeking refuge and to challenge the anti-migrant rhetoric. Former member of Parliament Ela Gandhi stood beside refugee groups and called the protesters' allegations false. “The rhetoric that these people are using is completely untrue,” Gandhi said. “It’s not the migrants that are causing the problems that they talk about.”
The announcement sets up a clear point at which organisers can escalate and opponents can mobilise. If demonstrators follow through on the pledge, Durban faces the prospect of renewed, large-scale marches on Sept. 30, leaving migrants, civil society groups and local authorities in opposing positions. What happens next will depend on whether protesters, municipal services and humanitarian actors reach arrangements for transport, shelter and verification before the deadline.
