The anger that exploded onto the streets of Durban and Soweto last week is a stark reminder that the illegal immigration crisis facing South Africa is not going away anytime soon unless the government acts with urgency.
This anger has been building for years in communities where unemployment, poverty and crime have become part of everyday life.
But somewhere along the way, that anger found the wrong target.
On Thursday and Friday, vehicles were torched, shops looted and homes burnt as protests against illegal immigration descended into violence.
By Sunday, police had arrested 30 people in KwaZulu-Natal and Gauteng.
Yet amid the destruction, one uncomfortable question deserves an answer, who allowed South Africa's immigration system to reach this point?
Hint: it is not the immigrant
The answer lies closer to government offices, border posts and police stations than the foreign-owned hair salon or spaza shop down the road.
South Africans have every right to demand secure borders, properly managed immigration and consequences for those who break the law.
But consider what IOL has reported on this year alone.
In April 2025, two Border Management Authority officials were arrested at Beitbridge after allegedly accepting a bribe to allow a vehicle carrying undocumented foreign nationals through the border.
The vehicle carried 18 passengers, five of whom had no travel documents.
In July this year, another border official was arrested for allegedly accepting R600 to unlawfully stamp a Lesotho national's passport.
The corruption extends beyond the border
In February, the Special Investigating Unit revealed that its investigation into Home Affairs had traced more than R181 million in financial gains linked to fraudulent visa applications.
Investigators uncovered alleged payments of between R500 and R3,000 to officials facilitating unlawful approvals.
Four officials earning less than R25,000 monthly received R16.3 million in direct deposits.
Think about that.
While ordinary South Africans struggle to put food on the table, people entrusted with protecting the country's immigration system have allegedly been selling access to it.
Policing failures
If an undocumented foreign national commits a crime, the police must investigate, arrest where justified, and ensure the law takes its course.
Those without a lawful right to remain must face immigration procedures, including deportation.
But what happens when an officer accepts money to look the other way?
It is an open secret in policing circles that immigrants are seen as walking ATM’s by corrupt cops.
Instead of arresting illegal and undocumented immigrants, corrupt police officials have seen it as an opportunity to profit.
“It has become part of their salary package,” a senior police officer told me at the weekend.
South Africa cannot arrest its way out of an immigration crisis while corrupt officials undermine enforcement, nor can politicians continue treating legitimate community frustrations as problems to be managed through speeches and occasional police operations.
South Africans need accountability
Residents struggling with unemployment, failing services and crime deserve functioning institutions and accountable leadership.
The government must answer for corruption within its own ranks before expecting communities to trust its immigration policies.
None of this excuses criminal conduct by foreign nationals. Anyone committing crimes must face the law, regardless of nationality.
But burning an immigrant's shop will not create employment. Torching someone's home will not repair a broken immigration system. Looting a business will not remove a corrupt official from office.
The people destroying their neighbours' livelihoods are directing their anger away from the institutions responsible for enforcing the law.
South Africa's immigration crisis demands accountability, not scapegoats, and that accountability must begin with the government itself.
IOL Opinion
** Lee Rondganger is the deputy editor of IOL.