South Africa in June 2026: the most important developments in society
South Africa in June 2026 was dominated by anti-immigrant protests and violence against foreign nationals. Early in the month, hundreds of people fled their homes as mobs attacked foreigners. More than 1,000 Malawians left a Durban informal settlement, and hundreds of Mozambicans also left the country. Nigerians described threats and abuse they had experienced, and Nigeria planned to repatriate over 1,000 of its citizens from South Africa.
The tension built toward a 30 June deadline set for migrants to leave. On 29 June President Cyril Ramaphosa called on anti-migrant protesters to march peacefully, and the Western Cape appealed for calm ahead of nationwide protests. Thousands of foreign nationals had left the country before the deadline. Threats such as "leave or return in a coffin" were reported, and some fathers separated from their families. A claim that Zimbabwe's president, Emmerson Mnangagwa, had told Zimbabweans to walk home was found by AFP Fact Check to be satire. On 30 June protests spread across the country as the deadline passed.
On health, South Africa began rolling out a new HIV injection amid funding shortfalls. On 19 June the United States announced it would end Pepfar funding for HIV programmes in South Africa, a major source of support for the country's HIV response. A separate report described how gun crime cuts poor South Africans off from healthcare.
by WorldBrief & Maksim Micheliov | AI-generated summary
Click a day in the chart above for that day's brief.