Ramaphosa Assumes SADC Chair Amid Anti-Migrant Protests in Durban

President Cyril Ramaphosa assumed the chairpersonship of the Southern African Development Community (SADC) on August 17, 2026, during the 46th Ordinary Summit in Durban, South Africa. Accepting the role from Zimbabwean President Emmerson Mnangagwa, Ramaphosa pledged to prioritize regional economic integration, sustainable industrialization, and the bloc's Vision 2050. The summit focused on infrastructure, agricultural transformation, and the beneficiation of critical minerals to reduce reliance on raw material exports.

The proceedings were overshadowed by violent anti-migrant unrest. The group March and March, led by Jacinta Ngobese-Zuma, staged protests at the venue demanding the repatriation of undocumented foreigners by September 30. This followed a wave of violence that left at least four migrants dead and drove between 53,000 and 176,000 foreign nationals—primarily from Malawi, Mozambique, and Zimbabwe—to flee South Africa. Ramaphosa expressed shame over the discrimination and ill-treatment of foreign nationals, stating that the region cannot preach integration while practicing exclusion on the streets.

In response, SADC leaders backed a call for coordinated regional dialogue to address the drivers of migration. South Africa also urged members to ratify the 2005 Protocol on the Facilitation of Movement of Persons, though Zimbabwe and Mozambique resisted placing migration as a standalone item on the heads-of-state agenda. Other regional priorities included addressing security crises in the Democratic Republic of Congo and Madagascar, and the establishment of a SADC Standby Force Regional Logistics Depot in Botswana.