RC 261008SAfmKoketso Sachane
Thursday, 8 October 2026
Asylum-related protests turned violent in Soweto and Durban, with vehicles torched, shops looted and police promising arrests, and they dominated the evening's calls and voice notes on The Meeting Point.
- 21:00
Acting National Police Commissioner Puleng Dimpani vowed lawlessness would not be tolerated after vehicles were torched in Durban and Soweto, saying crime intelligence would work through the night to find those responsible.
- 20:02
In Durban, a demonstrator's leg was reportedly broken in an alleged assault by foreign nationals, after which at least 14 vehicles were set alight and foreign-owned shops looted in the CBD.
- 20:30
In Soweto, one person was arrested after being found inside a looted shop, which angered residents without escalating tensions much further, according to SABC reporter Baleshe Tetwa.
- 20:40
Immigration lawyer Craig Smith said the Constitutional Court's asylum ruling should not be read as granting legal status to all undocumented migrants, and stressed the difference between an asylum seeker and a refugee.