Mozambique Says Five Nationals Killed in South Africa ‘Xenophobic Attacks’

Mozambique says several of its nationals were killed in xenophobic violence in South Africa’s Mossel Bay, but police confirm only two deaths. The unrest followed anti-migrant protests in the Western Cape, leading to houses being burned and hundreds displaced. Mozambique also says hundreds of its citizens have been affected, with some returning home and others relocated within South Africa. Authorities are investigating as tensions over migration continue to rise.

Mozambique has said that several of its nationals were killed in what it described as xenophobic attacks in South Africa over the weekend, amid a fresh wave of anti-migrant protests in parts of the country. However, South African police have disputed the scale of the incident, confirming only two deaths.
According to Mozambique’s government media office, violence broke out on Friday in the southern coastal town of Mossel Bay in Western Cape Province, about 380 kilometres east of Cape Town. In a statement issued late Monday, the government claimed that seven Mozambican nationals died in total—five as a result of xenophobic attacks and two others in a separate road accident while returning home.
South African authorities, however, rejected the claim that five people were killed in xenophobic violence. Western Cape police spokesperson Brigadier Novela Potelwa said only two Mozambican nationals died in Mossel Bay on Friday evening. She identified the victims as a 27-year-old and a 43-year-old man, stating that it was “not true that five people were killed,” while declining to confirm whether the deaths were linked to anti-migrant violence.
The incident in Mossel Bay is the first to be officially connected to a recent surge in protests against illegal migrants in South Africa. The region has witnessed growing tensions similar to demonstrations seen in recent weeks in major cities including Johannesburg and Durban, where undocumented migrants have been blamed by some groups for unemployment and crime.
Local media reports indicated that a protest that began in the Asla Park informal settlement escalated on Friday, leading to violent clashes, the burning of houses, and the displacement of hundreds of residents. The unrest has deepened concerns about rising xenophobic sentiment in affected communities.
Mozambique’s government also said the violence forced around 300 of its citizens to return home voluntarily on Saturday. It added that more than 500 Mozambican nationals were later relocated to safer locations within Western Cape Province, with repatriation efforts already underway as of Sunday.
Mossel Bay mayor Dirk Kotze expressed concern over the situation, describing it as “deep concern and dismay” over reports of killings, arson, and widespread displacement affecting migrant families.
South Africa, Africa’s most industrialised economy, has long attracted both legal and undocumented migrants from across the continent. However, it has also experienced repeated outbreaks of xenophobic violence over the past two decades, often fuelled by tensions over jobs, housing, and public services.
One of the worst incidents occurred in 2008, when anti-immigrant riots left 62 people dead, including both foreign nationals and South Africans. Further waves of violence were recorded in 2015 and 2016, highlighting the recurring nature of the crisis.
The latest unrest comes amid rising political pressure ahead of South Africa’s upcoming local government elections in November, with migration becoming an increasingly sensitive and divisive issue in national debates.