What is the refugee ruling that sparked riots in Durban and Soweto?

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1. 1

   Xenophobia in South Africa (Wikipedia)

   WikipediaPublished Oct 10, 2026Checked Oct 11, 2026

   “Prior to 1994, Economic migrants from Africa faced resistance and even occasional violence in South Africa due to competition for scarce economic opportunities. After majority rule in 1994, contrary to expectations, the incidence of xenophobia increased. In 2008, at least 62 people were killed in the xenophobic uprising and attacks. In 2015, another nationwide spike in xenophobic attacks against immigrants in general prompted a number of foreign governments to begin repatriating their citizens. A Pew Research poll conducted in 2018 showed that 62% of South Africans expressed negative sentiment about foreign nationals living and working in South Africa, believing that immigrants are a burden on society by taking jobs and social benefits and that 61% of South Africans thought that immigrants were more responsible for crime than other groups. There is no factual evidence to substantiate the notion that immigrants are the main culprits of criminal activity in South Africa, even though the claim is incorrectly made sometimes by politicians and public figures. Between 2010 and 2017 the number of foreigners living in South Africa increased from 2 million people to 4 million people.”

2. 2

   Who is watching? Refugee protection during a pandemic - responses from Uganda and South Africa.

   Comparative migration studies (Moyo et al.)Published Aug 10, 2021Checked Oct 11, 2026

   “South Africa used the pandemic to start building a border fence on the border with Zimbabwe, initially curtailed all foreign shop owners from opening under lockdown and excluded asylum seekers from emergency relief grants. In contrast, Uganda opened its borders to refugees from the DRC in June, when border closures were still the global norm. Whilst both responses are not unusual in light of their standard governance approaches, they highlight the own self-image the countries espouse - with Uganda positioning itself as the world's premier refugee protector at a time when it is desperately in need of more funds and South Africa looking to politically capitalize internally from reiterating a division between migrant communities as a threat to poor and disenfranchised South Africans. Even during a pandemic, the practice of refugee protection does not happen in a political vacuum. This paper is based on over 50 in-person and digital interviews conducted in Uganda and South Africa in 2020, as well as nine focus groups with refugee and host communities.”

3. 3

   White South African refugee program (Wikipedia)

   WikipediaPublished Oct 9, 2026Checked Oct 11, 2026

   “In February 2025, a refugee program officially known as Mission South Africa was launched by United States president Donald Trump to grant asylum to white South Africans and other minorities in South Africa, primarily Afrikaners, under claims of systemic violence and racial discrimination linked to South Africa's post-apartheid land reform policies. The Trump administration justified the program by alleging that White South African farmers were victims of what it described as a "genocide" and state-backed persecution. The initiative was met with strong opposition from the South African government. South African president Cyril Ramaphosa rejected the premise of the program, arguing that the white minority was not facing persecution that would meet the threshold for refugee status under international law. By August 2026, nearly 13,000 South Africans had been admitted to the United States, while reports the following month indicated that an unknown number of applicants had also been rejected, in some cases without a clear explanation.”