South Africa withdraws asylum directive after anti-migrant violence

Violent anti-migrant protests erupted in Johannesburg's Soweto township and Durban on Thursday, with 24 vehicles torched and foreign-owned shops looted.

The government blamed the unrest on misinformation surrounding a Constitutional Court ruling on asylum applications, which officials said had been misrepresented as granting automatic legal status to undocumented migrants. Government spokesperson William Baloyi said the violence was triggered by people spreading deliberately false information about the July 7 ruling.

On Friday, the Department of Home Affairs withdrew a directive issued on September 28 governing the intake of asylum applications. The department said refugee reception offices had been overwhelmed within days, officials had been placed at risk, and serious threats to public safety and order had emerged.

The directive was intended to implement the July 7 Constitutional Court ruling that certain provisions of the Refugees Act were unconstitutional because they could prevent asylum seekers from having their claims assessed on their merits solely because of procedural non-compliance, including irregular entry into South Africa.

The ruling does not automatically grant refugee status or other legal rights. Instead, asylum claims must be assessed individually to determine whether applicants qualify for protection.

Home Affairs said it would develop a new operational approach to comply with the court order while respecting the judiciary and the rule of law.