Protesters march to Durban Magistrate's Court in support of students arrested during violent unrest

• A crowd of protesters gathered at the Durban Magistrate's Court on 12 October 2026 to show solidarity with students arrested over the weekend
• The 19 detained individuals faced charges of public violence and property damage linked to anti-illegal immigration protests in Durban
• The unrest followed a now-withdrawn Home Affairs directive to resume asylum application processing, sparking days of violent demonstrations

Byron Pillay, a Briefly News journalist, has dedicated a decade to reporting on the South African political landscape, crime, and social issues. He worked as a newspaper journalist for 10 years before transitioning to online.

KWAZULU-NATAL — A group of protesters have marched to the Durban Magistrate's Court on 12 October 2026 to express support for students detained during a weekend of violent anti-immigration demonstrations in the city.

The 19 individuals arrested — the majority of them students — faced charges including public violence, property damage, and related offences stemming from unrest that gripped parts of Durban over the past few days.

The protests involved shop looting, vehicle torching, and house burnings targeting foreign nationals and their businesses.

What triggered the Durban unrest

The violence was triggered in response to developments surrounding a Constitutional Court ruling. The ruling struck down provisions of South Africa's Refugees Act that had imposed strict procedural barriers on asylum seekers.

To comply with the ruling, the Department of Home Affairs issued an internal directive on 28 September 2026, instructing refugee reception offices to accept in-person asylum applications from undocumented individuals, regardless of how or when they entered the country.

The directive sparked immediate backlash. False claims circulated on social media alleging it amounted to blanket amnesty or automatic citizenship for foreign nationals. Anti-illegal immigration groups first blocked asylum seekers from entering the Durban Refugee Reception Office, but the situation rapidly escalated into broader unrest across the Durban CBD, with clashes between protesters and foreign shop owners. Police responded with rubber bullets and stun grenades over the weekend.

Home Affairs officials probed over foreigners entering SA

In a related article, General Nhlanhla Mkhwanazi announced that police are investigating senior Home Affairs officials over the entry of foreign nationals into South Africa.

Briefly News reported that the comments followed unrest in Durban that left vehicles burned and shops looted following a Home Affairs directive.

The violence erupted near the Refugee Reception Centre after protests over asylum applications, and similar unrest was reported in Soweto.

Source: Briefly News

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