A foreign man was attacked to death by a mob of over 50 people in Durban, South Africa, amid increasing anti-immigrant protests.
On 22 Oct 2026 GMT+7, South African police revealed that an unidentified foreign man, estimated to be in his late 30s to early 40s, was approached by two men at the roadside before a large crowd of about 50 people joined in attacking him to death at the scene in Durban, located on South Africa's east coast.
Police have launched a murder investigation into the incident, but a spokesperson for the KwaZulu-Natal provincial police said it is too early to determine the motive and that further information will be released once the investigation is complete.
This incident occurred amid escalating anti-immigrant protests across South Africa over the past year, including earlier in the same month when protesters set fire to shops and vehicles in both Durban and Soweto.
Several activist groups, such as March and March, have issued ultimatums demanding all undocumented immigrants leave the country by 30 June, leading to attacks against foreigners from other African countries and diplomatic tensions.
Countries including Nigeria, Zimbabwe, and Ghana have expedited evacuations of their citizens due to safety concerns, with reports of Nigerian and Ghanaian nationals killed in previous violent incidents.
The South African government has called for calm among protesters while acknowledging the need to reform immigration laws, noting that tens of thousands of foreigners have already been deported since crackdowns began earlier this year.
Jacintha Ngobese-Zuma, a leader of the March and March movement, denied accusations of xenophobia, stating, “We have lived alongside these people for many years, and now that we say it is too much, enough is enough, we are labeled as xenophobic.”
South Africa has faced attacks on foreigners for nearly two decades, driven by poverty, inequality, and an unemployment rate of about one-third of the workforce. Immigrants are often blamed for job competition, crime, and burdens on public services, despite research disproving these claims.
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Source:bbc