JOHANNESBURG, South Africa — 9 October 2026. Home Affairs has withdrawn an asylum-intake directive after unrest in Soweto and Durban, where police reported 24 vehicles burned during Thursday’s protests. The department’s 9 October statement cites overwhelmed refugee offices, risks to officials and threats to public order.
Police are investigating the violence and have reinforced their response. The department says it will develop a different operational approach to comply with the Constitutional Court’s asylum judgment.
What happened during the South Africa unrest?
Police reported 10 vehicles burned in Soweto and 14 in Durban during protests on 8 October. Arrests and investigations followed. Home Affairs withdrew its asylum-intake directive on 9 October, but said it remained committed to implementing the Constitutional Court’s order through a revised operational approach.
Police report vehicle burnings in both cities
Acting National Police Commissioner Lieutenant General Puleng Dimpane said 10 vehicles had been burned in Soweto and 14 in Durban. IOL’s account of her Thursday evening remarks also describes looting and damage to property.
The Associated Press independently reported the same police vehicle figures and located the Soweto unrest near a Home Affairs office in Orlando West. Its report described tensions around protests opposing the removal of barriers to asylum applications.
The figures are the police account of Thursday’s damage. They should not be read as a final assessment of every affected business or property.
Dimpane warned that police would investigate those responsible and bring suspects before courts where sufficient evidence existed. She distinguished the right to protest from permission to burn vehicles, damage property or attack people.
Arrests reported in Durban and Soweto
AFRICAN POLITICS
South Africa Unrest: Police Respond After 24 Vehicles Are Burned
Oct 9, 2026
Oct 9, 2026
5 min read
Published
Updated:
JOHANNESBURG, South Africa — 9 October 2026. Home Affairs has withdrawn an asylum-intake directive after unrest in Soweto and Durban, where police reported 24 vehicles burned during Thursday’s protests. The department’s 9 October statement cites overwhelmed refugee offices, risks to officials and threats to public order.
Police are investigating the violence and have reinforced their response. The department says it will develop a different operational approach to comply with the Constitutional Court’s asylum judgment.
What happened during the South Africa unrest?
Police reported 10 vehicles burned in Soweto and 14 in Durban during protests on 8 October. Arrests and investigations followed. Home Affairs withdrew its asylum-intake directive on 9 October, but said it remained committed to implementing the Constitutional Court’s order through a revised operational approach.
Police report vehicle burnings in both cities
Acting National Police Commissioner Lieutenant General Puleng Dimpane said 10 vehicles had been burned in Soweto and 14 in Durban. IOL’s account of her Thursday evening remarks also describes looting and damage to property.
The Associated Press independently reported the same police vehicle figures and located the Soweto unrest near a Home Affairs office in Orlando West. Its report described tensions around protests opposing the removal of barriers to asylum applications.
The figures are the police account of Thursday’s damage. They should not be read as a final assessment of every affected business or property.
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Dimpane warned that police would investigate those responsible and bring suspects before courts where sufficient evidence existed. She distinguished the right to protest from permission to burn vehicles, damage property or attack people.
Arrests reported in Durban and Soweto
In its Friday morning update, published at 07:10 SAST, eNCA reported three arrests in Durban and several arrests in Soweto involving people suspected of looting.
The report did not provide a precise Soweto arrest total. Arrests establish that police have taken people into custody; they do not establish guilt.
The broadcaster also carried Dimpane’s appeal for communities to remain calm and allow the government to address asylum-related concerns through legal and constitutional processes.
There is no basis for assigning responsibility for all the violence to an entire nationality, to every asylum seeker or to every demonstrator. Particular incidents require evidence identifying the people involved and what they did.
Security presence remains visible in Orlando West
Eyewitness News’ Friday field report described armoured Johannesburg Metro Police Department vehicles, SAPS vans and South African National Defence Force vehicles near the Home Affairs office on Khumalo Street.
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The reporter observed soldiers in the area and residents moving through the debris. EWN said police remained on standby for further protests.
That account describes a particular location and observation period. It does not establish that all of Soweto is closed or that every government service has stopped. Residents, workers and applicants should check current arrangements for the specific office or route they intend to use.
What Home Affairs has withdrawn
The withdrawn directive was issued on 28 September to Refugee Reception Offices following the Constitutional Court’s 7 July judgment in the Scalabrini Centre of Cape Town case.
Home Affairs said the instruction was an operational attempt to implement the judgment. It said offices became overwhelmed within days and that officials faced risks. Those explanations are the department’s account of why it is reconsidering implementation.
The statement commits the department to finding an operationally sustainable way to comply with the court order. It does not give a replacement timetable or detailed instructions for applicants.
EWN’s report on the withdrawal likewise distinguishes the withdrawn administrative directive from the judgment itself. Applicants should therefore look for new written operating instructions rather than assuming that the withdrawal settles every question about access.
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The court ruling and refugee status are separate questions
The Constitutional Court’s official case summary explains that the case concerned procedural rules that could stop people from entering the asylum system before their protection claims were assessed.
The court confirmed the invalidity of challenged provisions of the Refugees Act. Its reasoning centred on the need for a merits-based process and protection against returning people to possible persecution or serious harm without that process.
Access to an application is different from a decision granting refugee protection. EWN’s withdrawal report notes that the judgment does not automatically confer refugee status or permanent residence.
XTRAfrica’s South Africa asylum-ruling explainer provides the earlier legal background. The latest withdrawal changes the administrative developments that applicants must now follow.
What happens next?
The immediate questions are the outcome of police investigations and the replacement operating arrangements at refugee offices. Updated arrest figures, formal charges and court appearances should be reported separately as they are confirmed.
Home Affairs has promised a fresh implementation process. Until detailed instructions are issued, neither a blanket reopening claim nor a blanket claim that the court’s decision has been reversed adequately describes the latest position.
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