GROUNDUP: Violence and mayhem in Durban anti-immigrant march

At least one person was rushed to hospital after reportedly being shot near Dr Pixley KaSeme Street in the Durban city centre at 4pm on Thursday, 8 October 2026, after hundreds of people, including March and March members and affiliated groups, rampaged through Durban targeting people they suspected of being immigrants.

GroundUp saw dozens of stores vandalised, some looted. 

GroundUp is aware of at least two other people who were assaulted and injured. Several vehicles were set alight and shops were looted when the chaos erupted. The condition of the person reportedly shot is yet to be confirmed.

KZN SAPS spokesperson Colonel Robert Netshiunda told GroundUp police were not yet aware of the shooting, but would issue a statement later. He said one protester had been assaulted.

GroundUp later met an immigrant man who was bleeding after being hit on the head.

Netshiunda said police were still gathering reports of incidents that happened during the march. Asked why SAPS was not better prepared for the action, he said, “Unplanned marches create a situation like this where police were policing one march and another one started where there was violence. We were stretched.”

He said police would remain in the area to monitor the situation.

Earlier, hundreds of people, including March and March members and affiliated groups, began their march at the Home Affairs Refugee Reception Centre before moving to a nearby scrapyard, apparently owned by an immigrant. The business was set on fire, and at least one person was assaulted.

It was the third day this week that protesters gathered outside the refugee centre to harass and intimidate asylum seekers and prevent them from entering.

There have been long lines of asylum seekers outside the refugee centre following an announcement last Monday that all asylum seekers could apply for asylum, ending a six-year closure for new applicants. The announcement was made by Home Affairs following a Constitutional Court ruling in July this year.

The group had told GroundUp that the protest was not organised by March and March. However, this morning Jacinta Ngobese-Zuma of March and March addressed the media outside the Home Affairs centre and said: “We are here picketing because that’s our right to express our dissatisfaction in our country, and that is what happens in a democracy. As long as we are not harming anyone, we will continue demonstrating until the government finds a way out of this mess.”

After leaving the refugee centre, the group gained numbers quickly and began splitting up.

One of the groups, led by Nkosikhona Ndabandaba, commonly known as Phakelumthakathi, marched to an IFP rally. Another less organised group marched through the city towards Point Road, breaking windows and looting businesses they suspected were owned by immigrants.

GroundUp reporters counted more than 15 broken windows on Gillespie Street alone, one belonging to what appeared to be a crèche. There were instances where some immigrants tried to retaliate by throwing objects at protesters.

Protesters also vandalised and looted a liquor store while metro police stood by and watched. One metro officer told GroundUp they were told to contain the group while waiting for SAPS Public Order Police to arrive.

We then came across an immigrant man who told us he had been dragged out of his store near Point Road and was assaulted by protesters. The man told GroundUp that he was left bleeding after being hit over the head with a stick.

Along the way, protesters threatened and harassed journalists. GroundUp reporters were pushed, grabbed, kicked and prodded with sticks, and had cellphones grabbed when trying to film the march.