The South Africans who have turned against foreign nationals no longer appear to care about the law, about respect, about basic morality, or about Ubuntu. That is why some of them are killing, looting, or standing by in support of it.

The President and the country’s law enforcement agencies are not doing enough to stop it. To African and international audiences, the message from the top is one of unity and brotherhood. To domestic audiences, a different, softer message is sent about “foreign nationals” and “illegal immigrants.” When police officers stand and watch as people are beaten, as homes are invaded and searched for immigrants, the silence from leadership is deafening — and that silence speaks louder than any statement.

Are elements within South African law enforcement trying to appease the mobs by declining to stop them? Marches that end in looted property and dead bodies are, in practice, being allowed to proceed unchallenged.

“When police stand and watch a house being invaded, their silence becomes a form of permission.”

According to documented firsthand accounts gathered through Makumbirofa Farms’ advocacy network over the past two months, more than 30 African nationals are reported to have lost their lives in xenophobic violence across South Africa. These figures reflect what has been reported to our network from affected communities; independent verification of the full total remains difficult amid the scale and speed of the unrest, and we continue to update our records as more information becomes available.

South Africans mistaken for foreigners have also been caught up in the violence — beaten, and in some documented cases, their homes looted. Our network has recorded reports of at least four South African citizens killed in incidents where they were wrongly identified as foreign nationals.

What Communities Are Reporting

In numerous locations, police have reportedly been present while homes were being attacked and residents harassed.

People are being stopped and asked to produce identity documents in the presence of police. South African homeowners have described being questioned and intimidated by mobs while officers looked on.

Businesses have reportedly been entered by groups demanding they dismiss foreign staff and hire only local workers — in some accounts, these groups arrived escorted by police vehicles.

Has the authority that belongs to police and immigration officials effectively been handed to the mobs? No serious investor and no tourist can be expected to place their trust in a country where, in the accounts reaching us, decisions are being made by slogans and street justice rather than by courts and law enforcement.

We do not want to see South Africa collapse. But from where we stand, advocating from outside the machinery of state power, there is only so much that words and appeals can do to stop it. For many affected foreign nationals, the safest path forward, for now, is to leave — in a country where, by the accounts we have documented, people have been attacked in the street even while holding valid permanent residence permits.

“A permit in your pocket means little if the mob in front of you cannot read it.”

To our young people considering migration: please think carefully before setting out for foreign lands, and look first for opportunity within our own countries. The risks of leaving are real and documented — some who have gone abroad in search of work have ended up victims of violence, exploitation, or trafficking networks. This is why Makumbirofa Farms wants to invest in employment-creation projects through farming, so that fewer of our young people feel forced to take that risk in the first place.

Editor’s note: Casualty figures in this article reflect reports gathered through Makumbirofa Farms’ advocacy network and community sources as of publication. These figures have not been independently verified against official government or SAPS statistics, which have not yet been made public in full. We will issue corrections if official figures differ materially from what is reported here.