On Thursday 8 October, protesters set vehicles alight in Soweto (10, per police) and Durban (14, per police; media counts of 10-11 in the CBD), and some foreign-owned shops were looted or shut (Al Jazeera, AP, TimesLIVE, EWN, eNCA, Briefly). The protests oppose a July Constitutional Court ruling that asylum seekers cannot be denied access to the asylum system on procedural grounds. Dimpane said three people were arrested in Durban. Metro police said shots were reported toward protesters in Orlando West. AFP reported rubber bullets in Durban.
The unrest follows weeks of tension over migration and a government directive that drew crowds to reception offices. It is a test of policing in two of the biggest cities, four weeks before local elections.
If you live or work in central Durban or around Orlando West, expect closures, a heavy police presence and disrupted shops. Check metro police and SAPS alerts before travelling.
Government and police say violence and looting cannot be tolerated and that those behind the burnings will be pursued.
Protesters and some community leaders say they are responding to a ruling made without public consultation and to long-standing grievances about jobs and services.
The pattern is the story: a court ruling, a directive, crowds at offices, then vigilante groups and retaliation. Watch for arrests of organisers, for any move by Home Affairs to adjust the directive, and for whether the unrest spreads beyond Soweto and Durban this weekend.
Al Jazeera, AP/ABC, Arab News, TimesLIVE, EWN, eNCA, Briefly (8 Oct 2026)
Cars torched in Soweto and Durban as protests over the asylum ruling turn violent
Police counted 10 burned vehicles in Soweto and 14 in Durban, with three arrests in Durban. The acting police commissioner promised to find those behind the burnings.
Violence broke out on Thursday 8 October in Soweto and in central Durban during protests against a July Constitutional Court ruling on access to the asylum system, according to Al Jazeera, AP, TimesLIVE, EWN, eNCA, Briefly and Arab News. Acting national police commissioner Lt-Gen Puleng Dimpane gave the police count as 10 vehicles torched in Soweto and 14 in Durban, with three arrests in Durban; AP reported at least 24 vehicles and looted shops. EWN counted at least 11 cars burned in the Durban CBD and TimesLIVE at least 10, so the Durban number differs by source.
In Soweto the violence started near the Home Affairs office in Orlando West. A metro police spokesperson, Xolani Fihla, said police received reports of shots fired toward protesters, which triggered the retaliatory burnings, and that no injuries were reported. Community leader Tshepo Mposula said the march began peacefully before residents moved to shut foreign-owned convenience stores. In Durban, TimesLIVE said the fires followed an apparent revenge attack after a demonstrator was allegedly assaulted by foreign nationals, and police said three foreigners were arrested over the assault. AFP reported police firing rubber bullets. Dimpane said crime intelligence would work around the clock. DailyDrop has not seen a death toll.