DURBAN - In November 2025, in a case involving Operation Dudula, the Johannesburg High Court ruled that South African citizens have no right to check another person’s immigration status.
"Those going around doing it now are court decision," says Nothando Phuti from Kopanang Africa against Xenophobia.
READ: Camping Durban foreign nationals ordered to prove legal status
Concerns are mounting over the growing plight of refugees and asylum seekers, some of whom are camped in Durban’s inner city after allegedly being chased from their homes.
They claim they were intimidated and initially sought protection from police.
According to the court ruling, no citizen is allowed to demand documentation or tell others where they can live or work. That responsibility lies solely with the state.
Home Affairs officials have, from Thursday, been stationed at the Diakonia Centre to verify the legal status of those who have sought refuge there.
Phuti says refugees and asylum seekers in South Africa are facing similar socio-economic challenges as the communities protesting against them.
"If the state is silent, then concerns get relegated to vigilantes," says Phuti.
"And these are vigilantes, these are not ordinary South Africans," she adds.
Phuti maintains that the majority of South Africans are not xenophobic and have long lived side-by-side with foreign nationals, making the protests unusual.
READ: SAHRC calls for calm, end to violence amid migrant crisis
According to Phuti, a small group of vigilantes is taking advantage of the country’s socio-economic challenges.
"Government has a duty to make sure it brings to book those who are committing these offences," he says.