Mozambique has claimed that five of its nationals were killed in xenophobic attacks in South Africa at the weekend, as efforts got under way on Tuesday to repatriate hundreds of others.
The deaths come after approximately 800 Mozambicans were targeted in violence that erupted in the southern city of Mossel Bay on Friday (29 May 2026), according to a statement released on Monday.
Mossel Bay is situated about 380 kilometres east of Cape Town.
The statement specified that "seven Mozambicans died, five as a direct result of the xenophobic attacks and two as a result of a road accident while returning to Mozambique by car."
"Regrettably, seven Mozambican citizens have died, five of them as a direct consequence of the xenophobic attacks and the other two as a result of a road accident, when they were travelling in a private vehicle on their way back to Mozambique," the Mozambique government's media office said in a statement late on Monday.
Conflicting versions
Local police on Tuesday confirmed only two deaths. "It is not true that five people were killed," Western Cape police spokesperson Brigadier Novela Potelwa said.
"Two Mozambicans lost their lives in the Asla Park informal settlement outside the town on Friday evening, one aged 27 and another aged 43," she said.
South African police also declined to say whether the two died in anti-migrant violence.
Local media, however, gave further details on the incident, reporting that a protest that began in Asla Park, outside Mossel Bay, on Friday had escalated, resulting in several houses being set on fire and hundreds of people displaced.
The Mozambique government said the violence prompted 300 Mozambican nationals to return home by their own means on Saturday.
"The remaining just over 500 have since been sheltered in a safe location in the Western Cape Province, and as of today, 1 June, the process of their repatriation to Mozambique is already under way," it said.
Mossel Bay mayor Dirk Kotze at the weekend voiced "deep concern and dismay at the current xenophobic attacks where people have been murdered, houses burned and families displaced".
Rising xenophobia
The killings are the first to be officially linked to the latest wave of protests against illegal migrants sweeping South Africa.
The country has seen demonstrations against illegal migrants similar to those that have taken place in recent weeks, notably in the financial capital Johannesburg and the east coast city of Durban.
As the continent's most industrialised economy, South Africa has long been a destination for both legal and undocumented African workers.
It has experienced repeated waves of xenophobic violence over recent decades, with illegal migrants accused of committing crime and taking jobs from locals.
In 2008, 62 people, including 21 South Africans, were killed in anti-immigrant riots that also displaced thousands. Further outbreaks followed in 2015 and 2016.
The latest spike in anti-immigrant tensions has been building for months and comes as political parties seek support ahead of local government elections in November.
Ramaphosa slams protests
With tensions rising, Ghana flew out 300 of its citizens last week and is planning to repatriate hundreds more.
Last month, several hundred foreign nationals from countries including the Democratic Republic of Congo, Rwanda and Somalia sought protection in the eastern port city of Durban, saying locals were going door to door telling them to leave by the end of the month.
Several African countries, including Kenya, Malawi, Nigeria, Lesotho and Zimbabwe, have urged their citizens in South Africa to exercise caution.
One citizen-led group has issued an ultimatum for illegal migrants to be expelled by 30 June, and there have been reports of groups checking the documentation of foreign nationals and forcing small businesses run by non-South Africans to close.
The action has no official backing and has been criticised by the authorities.
The Mozambique government statement says the situation remains volatile and is expected to worsen ahead of 30 June, adding that it is working on measures to support its nationals still in South Africa.
(With AFP)
