Thousands of undocumented migrants are trying to leave South Africa before nationwide anti-immigrant protests scheduled for June 30, amid growing fears that the demonstrations could turn violent.

In Durban, thousands of Malawian nationals queued at a temporary processing centre hoping to secure transport home, while hundreds of Zimbabweans spent nights sleeping outside their country’s consulate in Cape Town as they waited for buses.

Many migrants said they were leaving because they feared becoming targets of violence.

“We are scared because you never know what people are planning to do to you. It’s not right to wait and see what will happen,” said 37-year-old Ebrahim Moosa, who was waiting with his wife and other families, including mothers carrying babies, to return to Malawi.

South Africa has witnessed a wave of xenophobic protests and, in some cases, deadly attacks in recent weeks, forcing many foreign nationals to flee their homes or leave affected communities.

Anti-immigrant groups have given undocumented migrants until June 30 to leave the country, while several cities are preparing for possible unrest despite repeated government appeals for citizens not to take immigration enforcement into their own hands.

KwaZulu-Natal’s acting police commissioner, Phumelele Makoba, urged protesters to cooperate with law enforcement, saying authorities were preparing for large demonstrations. Police have announced a major security deployment, while President Cyril Ramaphosa said the country’s security forces were ready to maintain order.

The protest movement, March and March, has insisted it is not encouraging violence but said it would not accept responsibility for any incidents that occur during the demonstrations.

Xenophobic violence has repeatedly flared up in South Africa over the years, with some citizens blaming immigrants—most of whom come from neighbouring African countries—for crime, unemployment and pressure on public services.

President Ramaphosa has rejected those claims, warning against using foreigners as scapegoats and arguing that many of South Africa’s economic challenges stem from the long-term legacy of apartheid. Although the country has experienced years of weak economic growth and remains one of the world’s most unequal societies, it continues to attract migrants seeking work because it has Africa’s largest economy.

Among those forced to flee was Mozambican national Antonio Njive, who returned home earlier this month after his house was burned down during violence that killed five fellow Mozambicans.

“I left home without clothes. Everything was burned,” he said.

Mozambique has already repatriated hundreds of its citizens by bus, while Malawi and Zimbabwe have also organised transport home. However, officials say demand has overwhelmed available resources.

Outside Zimbabwe’s consulate in Cape Town, 30-year-old Amina Chiwoko said many people had been sleeping outdoors while waiting for buses.

“We are sleeping outside waiting for buses. Everyone just wants to go home,” she said.

Not everyone has the option of leaving. Many asylum seekers have nowhere safe to return to.

Leanne Sefu, a 25-year-old asylum seeker from the Democratic Republic of Congo who has lived in South Africa since she was three years old, said returning to her homeland was not possible because of the ongoing conflict there.

“The entire world knows that there’s a war in Congo, so me going back, it feels like going back to death,” she said.

After being attacked at the nail salon where she worked and forced from her home in Durban, she is now sleeping outside a Home Affairs office alongside dozens of other displaced migrants while hoping the government will provide emergency shelter.

“There’s no safety here,” she said.

Vusimusi “Cat” Matlala, a central figure in South Africa’s high-profile police corruption investigation, has pleaded guilty to charges of corruption, fraud and money laundering as part of a plea agreement with state prosecutors.

Matlala was accused of bribing senior police officials to secure a 360 million rand ($22 million; £16.5 million) government contract for his healthcare company, Medicare24, in 2024.

Under the proposed plea deal, which is still awaiting approval from a magistrate, the 49-year-old has agreed to cooperate with prosecutors and provide evidence against what the state describes as “high-ranking officials” involved in the alleged corruption network.

Among those facing charges linked to the case is South Africa’s national police commissioner, General Fannie Masemola, who has denied any wrongdoing.

State advocate Santhos Manilall told the court in Pretoria that negotiations over the agreement lasted nearly two months. If approved, Matlala would serve an eight-year prison sentence in exchange for his cooperation.

Manilall argued that offering a reduced sentence was justified because Matlala had provided investigators with crucial information that could help expose individuals who may otherwise have escaped prosecution.

As part of the agreement, Matlala is required to provide truthful and complete testimony in future court proceedings involving other suspects.

However, the deal has drawn strong criticism from the Democratic Alliance (DA), the second-largest party in South Africa’s governing coalition. The party described it as a “sweetheart deal” and “a betrayal of accountability”, arguing that it gives one of the country’s most prominent corruption suspects an unfairly lenient sentence without guaranteeing successful prosecutions.

DA justice spokesperson Glynnis Breytenbach said the arrangement highlighted what she called a two-tier justice system, where influential suspects are able to negotiate significantly lighter punishments.

A magistrate in Pretoria is expected to decide next week whether to formally accept the plea agreement.

Matlala is also facing a separate murder charge, which he has denied.

In addition, a witness appearing before the Madlanga Commission — the judicial inquiry investigating corruption within South Africa’s police service — alleged that Matlala was linked to a drug trafficking syndicate that had infiltrated senior levels of law enforcement.

Although Matlala has not publicly responded to those allegations, he previously denied having personal relationships with senior police officers or politicians while testifying before a separate parliamentary corruption inquiry last year.

He has yet to appear before the Madlanga Commission, where several witnesses have accused organised crime figures of working closely with senior police officials.

The commission was established in September last year after Lieutenant-General Nhlanhla Mkhwanazi alleged that organised criminal networks had infiltrated sections of the South African government and police service.

Families of victims killed during Kenya’s 2024 anti-government protests gathered outside parliament to lay flowers on a barbed wire barricade as the country marked two years since the deadly demonstrations.

Authorities sealed off parliament with barbed wire, preventing relatives from placing wreaths and flowers at the site. Police also blocked major roads across Nairobi and arrested 355 protesters nationwide, although turnout in the capital was much lower than during the mass demonstrations in 2024 and last year’s anniversary protests.

Among those mourning was Jacinta Anyango, whose 12-year-old son, Kennedy, was killed during clashes on the outskirts of Nairobi in 2024.

Speaking to the BBC outside parliament, she called for accountability from the government, saying she wanted the officers responsible for her son’s death to face the families and apologise.

She also questioned the government’s actions ahead of next year’s elections, asking who President William Ruto expected to vote for him if the killings continued.

The anniversary demonstrations were organised by activists demanding justice for the more than 80 people who lost their lives and dozens more who were injured during the youth-led protests.

The original demonstrations erupted in 2024 after widespread public anger over controversial tax proposals, triggering one of Kenya’s biggest waves of anti-government protests in recent years.