South African police arrested more than 900 people during anti-migrant protests across the country Tuesday that were mostly peaceful, but turned violent in some areas, with shops looted and one person killed.
The demonstrations were organized by a coalition of more than 20 civil society groups, including the March and March movement. Organizers said the marches marked an unofficial deadline for undocumented migrants to leave South Africa.
Deputy National Police Commissioner Tebello Mosikili said Wednesday that 108 of 120 marches were peaceful, while police intervened in 12. She said arrests were made for offenses including public violence, robbery, and immigration violations.
The Western Cape recorded 215 arrests, the highest total, followed by the Eastern Cape with 208, Mosikili said.
The Presidency said President Cyril Ramaphosa held an emergency meeting Monday with key protest organizers and called for calm. In a statement, Ramaphosa said: “South Africans have raised deep concerns about illegal immigration, border management, pressure on public services. … These concerns are real, and they deserve to be heard.”
He added: “Whatever the motivation, taking the law into one’s own hands is vigilantism and has no place in our constitutional democracy.”
In Johannesburg’s Alexandra township, police said one person was shot dead late Tuesday during looting of foreign-owned informal corner shops, known locally as spaza shops. Soldiers were also sent to Johannesburg’s Hillbrow neighborhood after a shooting injured two people, including a 17-year-old.
In Durban, thousands of protesters marched chanting “Abahambe!” (“They must go!”)