The mayor of eThekwini Municipality in Durban, Cyril Xaba, has ordered the relocation of Nigerians and other African nationals to a designated screening center to verify their legal status.

The move, executed on Thursday, involved deploying municipal buses to transport foreign nationals from the Diakonia Centre in the Durban central business district to a refugee reception facility for the formal processing of immigration documents.

The operation was captured in viral social media videos showing law enforcement officials escorting African migrants into buses, triggering tense reactions across digital platforms.

The president of the Nigerian Union South Africa, Smart Nwobi, confirmed the development, noting that the mayor’s intervention was heavily influenced by mounting pressure from local host communities. Nwobi stated that municipal authorities had managed to oversee the mass transfer peacefully, preventing the situation from deteriorating into chaotic physical violence.

The verification drive follows a highly publicized report from the Department of Home Affairs in KwaZulu-Natal, which revealed that during a recent sweeping audit of 457 processed migrants, only two individuals were found to possess valid, legal residency documentation. This revelation sparked intense public outrage and fueled demands from local anti-immigration groups for immediate state action.

Speculation within the region suggests that the crackdown was further accelerated by the recent murder of crime activist and traditional healer Thato Molosankwe, who was shot dead at his residence in Mahikeng, an event that re-engineered ongoing demonstrations by South Africans demanding the expulsion of foreign nationals.

The diplomatic friction between Nigeria and South Africa continues to escalate following these events, alongside a controversial municipal notice issued in nearby Estcourt demanding that undocumented foreign shop owners leave by June 30, 2026.

In response to the persistent anti-foreigner campaigns—which have seen over 10 major demonstrations organized by groups like Operation Dudula and the Abahambe Movement since the start of the year—the Nigerian Ministry of Foreign Affairs has confirmed it is actively collating the names of its citizens residing in South Africa who wish to be evacuated back home.