• The South African Council of Churches (SACC) has condemned violence, intimidation and hostility directed at foreign nationals amid growing anti-immigrant tensions across the country.
• In a pastoral letter titled Do Not Turn Away the Stranger, church leaders warned that the unrest has led to displacement, injuries, loss of livelihoods and, in some cases, deaths.
• Recent weeks have seen a swell of protest action, and in some cases violence, against foreign nationals or South Africans mistaken for foreign nationals.

As anti-immigrant tensions continue to simmer across South Africa, the South African Council of Churches (SACC) has warned that no grievance, however legitimate, can justify violence and intimidation against foreign nationals.

In a 10-page pastoral letter titled Do Not Turn Away the Stranger, issued to churches across the country following a gathering of church leaders on 2 June, the SACC urged South Africans to reject hatred and xenophobia while acknowledging widespread frustration with unemployment, crime, poor service delivery, and economic exclusion.

SACC general secretary Bishop Malusi Mpumlwana said church leaders were compelled to speak out after meeting on 2 June to consider escalating attacks on migrants.

“Across our land; in KwaZulu-Natal, in Gauteng, in the Free State and in the Western Cape, a wave of hostility, intimidation, and violence has risen against our brothers and sisters from other countries living among us.”

The intervention comes amid growing anti-immigrant mobilisation across the country and follows recent calls by President Cyril Ramaphosa for a crackdown on illegal immigration while warning against vigilantism and xenophobic attacks.

Recent weeks have seen a swell of protest action, and in some cases violence, against foreign nationals or South Africans mistaken for foreign nationals.

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Groups like March and March have been behind many such protests and promised mass action by 30 June if the issue of undocumented migration isn’t addressed according to their demands. That date has also been mentioned as a “deadline’’ for undocumented foreign nationals to leave the country.

The SACC, which represents 34 member churches and church associations, said church leaders were deeply concerned about the human cost of recent unrest directed at foreign nationals.

According to the council, the tensions have resulted in displacement, injuries, loss of livelihoods and, in some cases, loss of life.

“The church believes that real grievances deserve to be heard, but that no grievance can justify violence, intimidation, vigilantism or the targeting of innocent people on the basis of their nationality,” said SACC president Archbishop Sithembele Sipuka.

Church leaders said they recognised that many South Africans participating in anti-immigrant protests were expressing genuine concerns about unemployment, crime, poor service delivery and what they perceive as government inaction.

However, they cautioned against blaming migrants for South Africa’s broader socioeconomic challenges.

While acknowledging that some concerns relating to employment, crime and informal trading were rooted in lived experiences, the SACC said migration alone could not be held responsible for the country’s problems.

Instead, the council pointed to systemic unemployment, corruption, weak governance and economic inequality as significant contributing factors.

The SACC said urgent attention was needed to improve border management, strengthen the enforcement of existing laws, tackle corruption and protect everyone living within South Africa’s borders.

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The church leaders also called for greater engagement between local communities, foreign nationals, business groups, government and faith leaders.

They further argued that migration across the continent is often driven by conflict, instability, economic hardship and environmental pressures in migrants’ countries of origin, requiring greater regional cooperation among African states.

Drawing on Christian teachings, the church leaders reminded congregations of their responsibility to welcome strangers and protect vulnerable people.

The council warned that what began as “growing tension and organised protest” had in some cases resulted in injury and “the tragic loss of life”, attracting concern from elsewhere on the continent.

The church leaders added:

“We are compelled by the gospel to speak and to act.”

The SACC said reports from church leaders across several provinces painted a “troubling and consistent picture” of organised anti-migrant activity that had spread from KwaZulu-Natal to Gauteng and later to the Western Cape and other parts since mid-April.

According to the council, groups presenting themselves as defenders of citizens have organised marches, raids, shop closures and so-called citizens’ arrests targeting people they claim are undocumented.

The church body said the campaign had been fuelled by “widely circulated and inflammatory public rhetoric, arbitrary deadlines, misinformation and panic”.

The council said the human toll was already severe. In KwaZulu-Natal alone, church leaders reported about 2 000 migrant families had been affected, hundreds had been displaced and left homeless, while about 1 000 South African families had also lost livelihoods as businesses and communities were disrupted.

The letter reads:

“They lack food, blankets, shelter, clean water, medical care – including treatment for chronic conditions such as HIV, high blood pressure and diabetes – and trauma counselling.”

The SACC called on churches, government and communities to reject xenophobia and uphold the dignity of migrants, saying foreigners living in South Africa should not be treated as enemies but as neighbours deserving of protection and compassion.

It has further called on South Africans to reject hatred, violence and misinformation and instead pursue solutions rooted in “justice, accountability, truth, compassion and peace”.