Ramaphosa Leads SADC Summit Amid Anti-Migrant Protests in Durban

President Cyril Ramaphosa assumed the rotating chairship of the Southern African Development Community (SADC) during the 46th Ordinary Summit in Durban. The event was marked by significant security operations and traffic disruptions as approximately 300 anti-migrant protesters, led by Jacinta Ngobese-Zuma and the March and March organization, marched to the venue demanding that regional leaders retrieve their citizens.

The summit followed a wave of populist violence that drove more than 176,000 foreign nationals—primarily from Malawi, Mozambique, and Zimbabwe—out of South Africa through voluntary exit, deportation, and repatriation. The South African Police Service reported at least four migrant deaths during the unrest, though some foreign governments claim the toll is higher. Ramaphosa expressed that South Africa was "deeply concerned and ashamed" by the discrimination and ill-treatment of foreign nationals and proposed an Africa-wide conference on migration.

While SADC leaders backed a call for coordinated regional dialogue on migration, efforts to advance the 2005 Protocol on the Facilitation of Movement of Persons faced resistance from Zimbabwe and Mozambique. International Relations Minister Ronald Lamola urged member states to ratify the protocol to ensure migration is regulated and done within the law. Beyond migration, the summit focused on industrialization, critical minerals transformation, and the approval of a Tourism Univisa agreement.