THOUSANDS of demonstrators gathered in parts of South Africa yesterday to protest against migrants living in the country without documentation, in the biggest such action since violence over the issue broke in 2008.

The protests followed a June 30 deadline set by activist groups for the departure of undocumented migrants, who are accused of causing unemployment, low wages and rising crime. 

The South African government rejected the deadline, saying that only the authorities can enforce immigration law, and President Cyril Ramaphosa met group leaders on Monday night to urge that the demonstrations remain  peaceful.

Protest leader Ngizwe Mchunu blamed migrants for the spread of illicit drugs and demanded that informal shops be owned by South Africans.

“It’s a very sad story that we have been telling our government since the dawn of democracy that illegal immigration here is out of hand,” he said. 

“It is time for our government to put South Africa first.”

Police deployed hundreds of officers in Johannesburg and Durban amid fears of violence, after previous marches resulted in attacks on migrants and vandalism of foreign-owned businesses. 

Some shops owned by foreign nationals closed ahead of the protests, with private security firms guarding others.

Demonstrators in Johannesburg carried traditional fighting sticks and posters reading: “SA withdraw from the UN refugee convention,” and: “The future of our kids.”

Thousands of migrants, mainly from Zimbabwe and Malawi, gathered at embassies seeking transport home, with increased traffic reported at the Beitbridge border crossing. 

Three groups of Nigerian migrants have returned home this month, including 271 people who arrived in Lagos yesterday, with 632 of more than 1,000 registered Nigerians repatriated so far.

Emmanuella Akagbosun, a 44-year-old who moved to South Africa in 2017, said she had left because she feared she would be killed. 

She said the shop that she shared with her sister had been ransacked and looted by anti-migrant protesters.

“We are not safe, so we had to leave,” Ms Akagbosun said in Lagos.

Fellow Nigerian Fintan Opara, repatriated after 18 years in South Africa, said most Nigerians no longer feel welcome in the country.

According to the African Centre for Migration and Society’s xenophobic violence tracker Xenowatch, two people have been killed this year in South Africa due to anti-migrant violence.

In 2008, more than 60 people died during a wave of rioting against non-South Africans.