Residents, led by a group called Soweto Uprising 2026, stormed a foreign-owned spaza shop in Soweto during protests against undocumented foreign nationals on Thursday night, October 8.

The protesters said they wanted such shops to be owned and operated by South Africans.

They were filmed removing goods from the shop, claiming they were not looting but taking the items outside for the owner to retrieve. However, subsequent videos showed some protesters leaving with the goods.

Tensions had earlier escalated when residents clashed with foreign shop owners, with some vehicles set on fire.

Johannesburg Metropolitan Police Department spokesperson Xolani Fihla said the situation was being treated as criminal activity and that police officers had been deployed to the area.

Fihla said the owners of the spaza shops had been evacuated to a safe location. He added that no injuries had been reported.

Similar tensions were reported in Durban’s central business district in KwaZulu-Natal, where police fired tear gas at protesters and at least 11 cars were burnt.

The fire department deployed several vehicles to the scene, while the protest began at the Home Affairs refugee offices.

Foreign nationals at the office were advised by police to evacuate for their safety.

Some community members who supported the demonstrations said the situation could have been prevented if immigration laws had been stricter and South African citizens felt that their interests were being prioritised.