DURBAN — The park was loud on Tuesday. Men dressed in full Zulu warrior regalia, sticks in hand and shields raised, marched in circles chanting "abahambe."
In Zulu it simply means "they must go". Police in riot gear watched every step.
That chant has become the slogan of a campaign that gave undocumented foreigners until June 30 to leave South Africa. The deadline was pushed by a well-known mobiliser who told CNN he organised demonstrations with men in traditional Zulu dress.
By Tuesday morning, the fear was real. Thousands of foreign nationals gathered outside consulates, bus parks and makeshift shelters in Johannesburg, Durban and Cape Town. Many carried bags, mattresses, children. They were waiting for a way out.
Neighbouring governments moved fast. Nigeria and Ghana have airlifted hundreds of their citizens in the past two days, with more flights planned. Uganda says it will pull out close to 750 people. Reports from the ground put the number of stranded Nigerians alone at over 700.
The rush follows weeks of rising tension. A loose coalition of small political groups and vigilante movements, including Operation Dudula and March and March, has been demanding mass deportations. Their message spread quickly on social media, often boosted by videos later debunked as false.
In Durban, police have already clashed with marchers, using rubber bullets and tear gas to break up crowds. Across the country, all police leave has been cancelled for June 30 and the army is on standby to protect key sites. Acting Police Minister Firoz Cachalia says the security operation will cost about R600 million.
Businesses in city centres shut early. Streets that are usually busy were quiet.
One protester, 64-year-old pensioner Selwyn Anderson, stood with the Durban crowd. He told AFP he had travelled across Africa and believes South Africa is "the America of Africa." He blamed undocumented migrants for taking over small shops.
Not everyone agrees. Labour analyst Dale McKinley, speaking ahead of November's local elections, said politicians are using foreigners as a scapegoat. "The xenophobic groups have got it wrong. This is a problem of governance, corruption, and mismanagement," he said.
The anger has already turned deadly. In recent weeks, at least two Mozambicans, one Ethiopian and one Malawian have been killed in attacks linked to anti-foreigner violence. That is why many are choosing to leave now.
Peter Madsoan, a 45-year-old builder from Malawi, waited with a crowd in Durban for a bus home. "I decided to go to avoid being attacked," he said. "I am a breadwinner back at home in Malawi. It is better for me to go than to die in South Africa."
In Cape Town, Zimbabwean mother Evelyn Chinooneka slept outside her country's consulate for three nights with her 10-month-old baby. "It was raining. All the clothes are wet now. We need our buses to come," she said. She had worked on a farm for four years before her employer told her to leave.
The organisers insist they want peace. Jacinta Ngobese-Zuma, leader of the March and March movement, called the action "a national march to freedom, a rolling mass action" that will continue until undocumented migrants leave. "We are not calling for violence. No one will be killed on the 30th of June, and no looting will take place in our name," she said.
Government leaders are not taking chances. President Cyril Ramaphosa met Zulu King Misuzulu KaZwelithini in Pretoria at the weekend to ask for calm. He also announced tougher immigration enforcement.
KwaZulu-Natal Premier Thami Ntuli warned residents not to repeat the past. "Whatever our concerns about undocumented migration, however legitimate the frustrations beneath them, we will not allow this province to be set alight a second time, whether by criminality or by xenophobia," he said.
The memory is fresh. In July 2021, about 350 people died when protests over former President Jacob Zuma's jailing turned into riots and looting. In 2008, xenophobic attacks left 62 people dead.
South Africa remains one of the continent's biggest economies, and it still draws workers from Malawi, Zimbabwe, Mozambique and beyond. But with unemployment above 30 percent, poor services and crime high, frustration is growing.
Analysts say the current wave is different because it is happening just months before local elections, with protests led by Zulu activists intensifying the political pressure.
For now, the country is on edge. Police line the streets, families wait for buses, and the chant of "abahambe" echoes in Durban parks. Many foreigners say they just want to get home alive.
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