Demanding justice: Operation Ubuntu's call for an end to xenophobia

On Saturday, Operation Ubuntu called for an end to xenophobia through a national and continental day of action. The movement held demonstrations in Johannesburg, Durban City Hall, and Cape Town's Hanover Street, presenting a memorandum of demands to various government departments and the South African Police Service (SAPS). These demands focused on ending the crisis of xenophobia and the broader conditions of deprivation affecting both migrants and South African citizens.

The group emphasized that issues like housing shortages, lack of jobs, and limited access to essential services are failures of government delivery, not the result of migrant communities' shortcomings. Operation Ubuntu demanded land and housing justice, prevention of mineral looting, and the protection of vulnerable citizens. They also called for the state to stop harassing and deporting people due to a flawed documentation system and the immediate reintegration of displaced migrants.

Key demands included the establishment of a high-level oversight framework, improvements in health and social rights, climate justice, and support for the 2026 Local Government Elections. Operation Ubuntu urged the SAPS to arrest and prosecute individuals inciting violence and hate speech against foreign nationals, particularly those responsible for eThekwini's social-media threats against a refugee community.

The memorandum also requested an immediate moratorium on evictions until all South Africans have access to decent housing, as well as an adaptive approach to upgrading informal settlements and occupied buildings instead of evictions. Furthermore, Operation Ubuntu called for the Department of Human Settlements to implement a two-year moratorium on expulsions to allow African migrants to obtain their documents and for Home Affairs to stop penalizing employers and households for hiring undocumented workers.