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Zoe Groves, Lecturer in Modern Global, Colonial and Postcolonial History, University of Leicester

Have South Africans always been hostile to migrants? Historians map a chequered history

Anti-immigrant violence began to sweep across South Africa once again in March 2026. Over the following months an estimated 56,000 Malawians and 115,000 Zimbabweans were forced to flee their homes. At least 11 foreign nationals were killed.

It took the country’s President Cyril Ramaphosa some months to condemn the violence.

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