Hundreds to thousands of African refugees and asylum seekers have established a camp on the pavements outside the Department of Home Affairs Refugee office in Durban [1, 2].
The encampment follows a surge in anti-immigrant protests that forced many migrants to flee their communities. These individuals are now demanding government shelter and legal protection as they face increasing instability within the eThekwini municipality [2, 3].
The group established the semi-permanent site after an unofficial deadline of June 30, 2026, passed [4]. While some reports describe the group as consisting of hundreds of refugees [1], other accounts indicate that thousands of migrants, including many from Malawi, have queued or camped in the area [2].
Local officials have responded to the growing crisis. eThekwini Mayor Cyril Xaba said the foreigners currently camped outside the Home Affairs office must be urgently relocated [3]. The camp has been described as a month-long installation as the individuals wait for government intervention [1].
The crisis is linked to broader unrest across South Africa, where undocumented immigration has become a flashpoint for public protests [2]. Many of those in the Durban camp are asylum seekers who feel they have no other safe haven after being driven from their homes [3, 4].
“Refugees and asylum seekers have set up a semi‑permanent camp on the pavements outside the Department of Home Affairs.”
The emergence of a semi-permanent camp at a government office signals a breakdown in the local capacity to manage asylum seekers during periods of civil unrest. The tension between the mayor's demand for relocation and the migrants' demand for shelter highlights a critical gap in South Africa's humanitarian infrastructure when facing anti-immigrant sentiment.
