[4] 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.

The reality was more varied, with the homeland of Lebowa banning Mozambican settlers outright while Gazankulu welcomed the refugees with support in the form of land and equipment.

Those in Gazankulu, however, found themselves confined to the homeland and liable for deportation should they officially enter South Africa, and evidence exists that their hosts denied them access to economic resources.

[8] Despite a lack of directly comparable data, xenophobia in South Africa is perceived to have significantly increased after the election of a Black majority government in 1994.

[1] Academic Audie Klotz states that following South Africa's transition to democracy in 1994 a new "non-racial xenophobia" has emerged in the country that has specifically targeted refugees.

One unanticipated by-product of this project has been a growth in intolerance towards outsiders ... Violence against foreign citizens and African refugees has become increasingly common and communities are divided by hostility and suspicion.

[12] Two years earlier, at a similar meeting in Johannesburg, Mapisa-Nqakula had admitted that refugees and asylum seekers were mistreated by police with xenophobic attitudes.

[17] In 2000, seven foreigners were killed on the Cape Flats over a five-week period in what police described as xenophobic murders possibly motivated by the fear that outsiders would claim property belonging to locals.

The immigrants believed the murders to be motivated by xenophobia, although police rejected the assertion of a concerted campaign to drive Somali traders out of townships in the Western Cape.

[22] On 12 May 2008 a series of riots started in the township of Alexandra (in the north-eastern part of Johannesburg) when locals attacked migrants from Mozambique, Malawi and Zimbabwe, killing two people and injuring 40 others.

The Anti-Eviction Campaign brought these issues to the open by organising a series of anti-xenophobia meetings attempting to find the root cause of the crisis.

[35][36] In November 2009, a community of 1500-2500 Zimbabwean farm workers was forcibly evicted from their homes in the informal settlements of De Doorns, a grape-farming town in the Western Cape.

Researchers identified the role of a ward councillor, Mpumelelo Lubisi, in inciting the attack in possible collusion with informal labour brokers who had financial interests in getting rid of their Zimbabwean competitors.

According to Christopher McMichael: "This shared state-corporate project of building up a 'fortress South Africa' also reveals a deeply entrenched seam of xenophobia, in which undocumented migrants and refugees from African countries are painted as a security risk akin to terrorism and organised crime.

Parliamentary discussions on border security are rife with claims that foreign nationals are attempting to drain social grants and economic opportunities from citizens.

[45] South African Foreign Minister Maite Nkoana-Mashabane expressed the government's "strongest condemnation" of the violence which had seen looting and the death of a Somali shopkeeper.

[46] On 7 June 2014, a Somali national, in his 50s, was reportedly stoned to death and two others were seriously injured when the angry mob of locals attacked their shop in extension 6, late on Saturday.

[55] Despite the government's insistence that Sithole's murder was not xenophobic, the South African National Defence Force (SANDF) was deployed in Alexandra township following the publication of the images.

During that meeting, there was no representative from the police and one of the ward councillors further legitimized the attacks through xenophobic sentiments centred on not giving foreigners a platform to have their own shops.

Protesters accused immigrants of taking jobs from South Africans, causing crime,[67] and complained that "[t]hey are arrogant and they don't know how to talk to people, especially Nigerians.

[70] The attacks on foreigners was criticised by both the South African government[71] and political parties[69] amidst calls to ensure that xenophobic sentiment was not exploited for electoral purposes.

[72] On 1 September 2019, riots and looting targeting shops owned by foreign nationals broke out in Jeppestown and Johannesburg CBD[73] following the death of a taxi driver.

[77] After riots resulted in 12 deaths in the first week of September, 640 of an estimated 100,000 Nigerians in South Africa signed up to take free flights offered by Nigeria to return to their home country.

Reports of harassment of immigrant traders in Soweto and Johannesburg by a group dubbed "Operation Dudula" (meaning: "to push" in isiZulu) began emerging in mid-January 2022.

[90] Representatives of Operation Dudula denied that their movement was xenophobic despite their stated aim to unilaterally forcibly evict illegal foreigners from South Africa.

[92] In the Miss South Africa 2024 pageant, model Chidimma Vanessa Onwe Adetshina, who reached the Top 9 finalists, faced controversy regarding her eligibility.

[94][95][102][103] The Minister of Sports, Arts, and Culture Gayton McKenzie faced criticism for xenophobic and Anti-African sentiment remarks after he congratulated a European-descent South African swimmer in the midst of Adetshina competing in the pageant.

[98][104][101][105] The President of the Nigerian Citizens Association South Africa (NICASA), Frank Onyekwelu released a statement in support of Adetshina, lauding her as a genuine ambassador of peace.

By endorsing Adetshina, the NICASA President emphasized the value of embracing diversity and fostering inclusivity, noting that her involvement could positively influence societal attitudes and enhance relationships between communities.

[111] Vanya Gastrow, a researcher from the African Centre for Migration in Johannesburg, published a case study on the economics of small traders in South Africa.