South Africa seeks Africa-wide migration talks amid anti-immigration unrest

Johannesburg,UPDATED: Aug 5, 2026 23:56 IST

South Africa is pushing for an Africa-wide discussion on migration as it tries to contain the fallout from anti-immigration protests that have forced many migrants to leave the country and strained ties with some other African nations.

South African officials say a wider conversation among African countries is needed to address the causes of the migration crisis across the continent, even as the country faces criticism over protests calling for the deportation of migrants in the country illegally and reports of violent attacks on migrants.

The African Union, which has 55 member states, rejected a proposal by Ghana last week to place South Africa's migration tensions on the agenda of its next coordination meeting in October. South Africa opposed the move, saying it would single out the country without addressing the wider crisis.

The issue is expected to come up later this month at a Southern African Development Community summit in Durban. Countries expected at the talks include Malawi, Mozambique and Zimbabwe, which have been repatriating some of their nationals from South Africa. Relations Minister Ronald Lamola said on Wednesday that the talks would also examine factors driving irregular migration in different parts of the continent, including North Africa.

Lamola said the government wants an Africa-wide discussion on the migration crisis, which has included people entering South Africa illegally and the chaotic crossing of thousands of migrants from Morocco into the Spanish territory of Ceuta last week that left more than 80 people dead. He said South Africa wanted to approach the issue by focusing on the "push-pull factors" that lead people to leave their home countries. In the past two weeks, he has met other leaders and officials, including Ghana President John Dramani Mahama and a representative of Nigerian President Bola Tinubu.

In South Africa, anti-illegal immigration groups have called for the deportation of migrants who are in the country illegally. They have said they will continue protesting every Thursday to pressure the government to speed up deportations, enforce immigration laws and tighten border security. Some migrants have said they were violently attacked by protesters.

The South African government said at least 68,000 people were repatriated between June and July, including those deported for not having the required documents and for being in the country illegally. While the exact split between repatriated people and deportees is unclear, the government said most were from Malawi, followed by Zimbabwe and Mozambique. The Border Management Agency has also reduced the capacity of its temporary repatriation facility in Musina, near the Beitbridge border post between South Africa and Zimbabwe, from 20,000 people to 1,500.

South Africa is therefore seeking to place its domestic tensions over migration within a wider continental discussion, even as protests, repatriations and diplomatic unease continue to shape the issue.

With PTI Inputs

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