Vehicles burned during South Africa protests over asylum processing

South Africa saw anti-migrant protests turn violent in Durban and Soweto on Thursday, 8 October, amid opposition to renewed processing of asylum applications. DW reported burned vehicles in both places, while a Johannesburg police spokesman said at least nine were torched in Soweto. The protests followed a Constitutional Court ruling on access to the asylum system, which does not grant applicants refugee status automatically.

In Durban, protesters demanded that a refugee reception centre stop processing asylum applications, according to DW. eNCA reported that anti-illegal immigration groups had blocked access to the centre on Wednesday. Its report described tensions at reception centres as staff resumed handling new applications. The disruption put the practical effect of the court ruling at the centre of the protests.

DW attributed reports of about 10 overturned and burned vehicles in Durban, and looting of foreign-owned shops, to local media. It also reported that police fired rubber bullets when protesters and foreign nationals clashed there. Those Durban damage and looting details are reported estimates, rather than a final official tally in the available accounts.

What police reported in Soweto

In Soweto, residents clashed with foreign shop owners and gunshots were heard, DW reported, citing broadcaster Newzroom Afrika. Johannesburg Metropolitan Police Department spokesman Superintendent Xolani Fihla told SABC television that at least nine vehicles had been torched. His account established a minimum vehicle count at the time he spoke, rather than the full extent of damage.

What South Africa’s asylum ruling changed

The legal decision behind the dispute predates this week’s unrest. South Africa’s Constitutional Court handed down its judgment in the Scalabrini Centre of Cape Town case on 7 July. It confirmed that provisions of the Refugees Act were unconstitutional because they could keep people from entering the asylum process, or prevent their claims from being assessed on their merits, over immigration-related procedural failures.

The court’s published summary identifies the barriers at issue: entering South Africa outside a designated port, failing to report to a Refugee Reception Office within five days, and lacking an asylum transit visa were among them. The case was brought by the Scalabrini Centre of Cape Town and its trustees. Organisations admitted to assist the court included the UN refugee agency and Amnesty International.

The distinction matters for people seeking protection and for those responding to the ruling. Removing a procedural barrier lets a person present an asylum claim for assessment; it does not determine whether that claim qualifies. DW reported that the government had emphasised on Wednesday that the judgment does not automatically give anyone refugee status or permanent residence.

According to eNCA, the Department of Home Affairs directed refugee reception offices to process new asylum applications after the judgment. The department described that step as implementation of a binding court decision, although it had opposed the case during the proceedings. eNCA also reported the department’s rejection of claims that the judgment gives asylum seekers citizenship or blanket legal status.

What remains unclear after the clashes

The immediate reports establish protests, clashes and burned vehicles, but leave the full effects unsettled. DW’s Durban figures and looting account rely on local media reports, and Fihla’s statement about injuries was limited to information available when he spoke. The available accounts do not establish a final tally of damage or arrests, or whether application processing continued without further interruption after the protests.