- Community members and the Soweto Uprising movement went door to door in Dube on 12 October 2026, issuing eviction notices to local landlords
- The action followed looting of foreign-owned spaza shops in Dube last week, with movement leader Lungi Yende targeting Somalian shop owners
- Organisers warned they would return after seven days to check whether landlords had complied with the notices
Source: Getty Images
GAUTENG — Community members aligned with the Soweto Uprising movement conducted a door-to-door operation in Dube on 12 October 2026, delivering seven-day eviction notices to local landlords who rent premises to foreign national spaza shop operators. The ultimatum came in the wake of protests in Soweto and Durban against a Department of Home Affairs directive opening applications for asylum seekers.
According to TimesLIVE, the campaign follows the looting of foreign-owned shops in Soweto. Activists moved through residential and commercial properties in the area, pressuring property owners to terminate lease agreements with foreign nationals running spaza shops on their premises.
Soweto Uprising targets Somalian shop owners
Soweto Uprising leader Lungi Yende said the movement's primary objective is the removal of Somalian shop owners from the community. The operation forms part of broader tensions that have flared following a withdrawn Home Affairs directive on asylum applications and a Constitutional Court ruling related to the Refugees Act.
Police monitored the group throughout the drive but did not intervene to stop the notices from being issued. Organisers confirmed they intend to revisit the area after the seven-day deadline to verify compliance by landlords.
Landlord says police intervention failed to help
Local landlord Patricia Mbatha told reporters she had already been attempting to remove a tenant without valid documentation from her property, but that even with police involvement, the process had stalled. Her account illustrates the difficulty some property owners face when navigating eviction procedures without legal recourse.
Community leader Kgosanang Moloi framed the campaign as an effort to restore economic opportunity to local residents, stating that the initiative aims to help South Africans reclaim the spaza shop sector in their own neighbourhoods. The notices give landlords one week to act before the movement returns to assess whether the shops have been vacated. It remains unclear what steps organisers plan to take should landlords fail to comply within the deadline.
Sowetan posted a video of the clash on X. View it here:
March and March shuts Home Affairs office
In a related article, Briefly News reported on March and March members disrupting asylum application processing at the Durban Home Affairs office and the police response.
The protest came amid a Constitutional Court ruling that removed procedural barriers for asylum seekers and reaffirmed protections against returning people to countries where they could face persecution or serious harm.
Source: Briefly News
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