Max And Karl Charity Foundation Escalates International Action On Escalating Xenophobic Violence In South Africa

Urgent Petitions Submitted to International Criminal Court and African Commission on Human and Peoples' Rights; Communications Sent to United Nations and South African Government

The Max and Karl Charity Foundation, a pan-African human rights and humanitarian advocacy organization, issues this statement to communicate that it has formally escalated international legal and diplomatic action in response to the documented, systematic, and state-tolerated pattern of xenophobic violence, forced displacement, healthcare denial, and persecution affecting migrants, refugees, and asylum seekers in the Republic of South Africa.

Between 2022 and 2025, independent monitoring by Xenowatch documented 406 verified incidents of xenophobic violence resulting in 75 confirmed deaths—an average of 102 xenophobic incidents annually. In 2025 alone, 151 incidents were recorded. In the first five months of 2026, 22 additional verified incidents were documented, including at least four people killed and hundreds displaced from their homes and livelihoods.

This crisis has reached a critical threshold. Since 2008, when xenophobic violence killed at least 62 people and displaced thousands, more than 430 people have been murdered in xenophobic attacks in South Africa. The pattern is not episodic. It is systemic. It is organized. And it is enabled by state complicity through inaction, judicial obstruction, and, most recently, state legitimation of vigilante groups.

THE IMMEDIATE CRISIS: 2026 ESCALATION

The current escalation is marked by unprecedented organization and coordination. On May 3, 2026, five Ethiopian migrants were killed in Johannesburg, three of whom were shot dead inside a McDonald's restaurant. On May 4, 2026, a citizen-led movement organized a nationwide shutdown demanding the expulsion of documented and undocumented foreign nationals. Throughout April and May 2026, March and March (founded by Jacinta Ngobese-Zuma) and Operation Dudula (led by Zandile Dabula) organized coordinated marches targeting foreign-owned shops and assaulting migrants.

In late May 2026, two Mozambican men were killed in Mossel Bay, with Mozambique officially reporting that five of its citizens had died in xenophobic attacks. More than 50 shacks in an informal settlement were burned. On June 10, 2026, gunmen opened fire at an informal settlement in Cleveland, Johannesburg. In June 2026, a Malawian man was killed by a mob in Pietermaritzburg, forcing hundreds of migrants to seek emergency shelter in churches and mosques.

SYSTEMATIC DENIAL OF HEALTHCARE: A VIOLATION OF THE RIGHT TO LIFE

Among the most egregious violations has been the systematic blockade of public healthcare facilities. From mid-2025 onwards, Operation Dudula and March and March blockaded at least 53 clinics across KwaZulu-Natal, Limpopo, Mpumalanga, and Gauteng provinces, denying migrants access to emergency medical care, maternal health services, vaccination programs, and chronic disease management.

In July 2025, a one-year-old Malawian boy died after Operation Dudula members blocked his family from accessing treatment at two clinics in Alexandra because they could not produce a South African identity document. Pregnant women have been denied access to maternity care. Elderly patients have been turned away from hospitals. Children have been denied vaccination services.

The South African Human Rights Commission reported that despite direct engagement with the Department of Health and the National Commissioner of Police, both of which committed to intervening, vigilante conduct continued unabated. In some instances, police refused to take statements from victims. Hospital security personnel allegedly refused to intervene against vigilantes at Addington Hospital in Durban.

JUDICIAL FAILURE AND COURT ORDERS IGNORED

On November 4, 2025, the High Court of South Africa (Gauteng Division, Johannesburg) handed down a comprehensive judgment in Kopanang Africa Against Xenophobia v. Operation Dudula, finding Operation Dudula and its leadership guilty of intimidation, harassment, and incitement of hate speech and violence on the grounds of nationality, social origin, and ethnicity. The court explicitly prohibited Operation Dudula from demanding identity documents from members of the public, blocking access to healthcare facilities, or taking the law into their own hands.

These court orders have been systematically violated. Despite clear legal prohibitions, vigilante activity has continued across the country without meaningful state enforcement. In October 2025, when the South African Human Rights Commission sought an urgent interdict from the KwaZulu-Natal High Court to stop vigilante groups from denying migrants access to healthcare, the court struck the application from the roll, ruling it was not 'urgent enough.' This is judicial abdication. A one-year-old child dead from denied healthcare is urgent.

STATE COMPLICITY: GOVERNMENT LEGITIMATION OF VIGILANTES

Most troubling is the state's role in legitimizing these organizations. On May 25, 2026, senior government ministers convened a high-level meeting at the Union Buildings, the official seat of government, with the leadership of March and March and other anti-migrant organizations 'to address illegal immigration and the rise in anti-immigration protests in the country.' This meeting granted organizational legitimacy to groups engaged in unlawful violence, harassment, and denial of constitutional rights.

Police have demonstrated inadequate response to violence. Despite court rulings and engagement from the Department of Health and the National Commissioner of Police, vigilante conduct has continued with insufficient intervention. Police statements claim deployments 'as and when needed', a formula that permits selective enforcement and systematic under-response to migrant victimization.

A case of public violence was opened against March and March, Operation Dudula, and the MK Party following violent protests at Addington Primary School in January 2026. Jacinta Ngobese-Zuma handed herself over to police on January 27, 2026. As of July 2026, no prosecutions have proceeded. No convictions have been secured. The pattern of impunity continues.

CONTINENTAL AND INTERNATIONAL DIMENSIONS OF THE CRISIS

This crisis is not a South African domestic matter. It is a continental humanitarian emergency. More than 3 million immigrants, approximately 5% of South Africa's population, live in the country, primarily from neighboring SADC nations. The victims of 2026 violence include Ethiopian, Mozambican, Malawian, Nigerian, Cameroonian, and Zimbabwean nationals.

Regional governments have responded with grave concern. Nigeria, Ghana, and Mozambique have initiated the repatriation of their citizens. The Nigerian Foreign Minister, Bianca Odumegwu-Ojukwu, announced plans for voluntary repatriation flights and noted that two Nigerians were killed in incidents involving South African security personnel. Kenya, Malawi, Lesotho, Zimbabwe, and Ghana have all warned their citizens in South Africa to exercise caution.

MAX AND KARL CHARITY FOUNDATION'S LEGAL AND DIPLOMATIC ACTION

In response to this documented crisis, the Max and Karl Charity Foundation has taken the following actions:

PETITION TO THE INTERNATIONAL CRIMINAL COURT
The Foundation has submitted a formal communication to the Office of the Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court requesting urgent scrutiny of whether the alleged widespread and systematic attacks, persecution, forced displacement, and related acts against civilian populations in South Africa meet the threshold for crimes against humanity under the Rome Statute. The Foundation has emphasized the organized nature of the violence, the state's failure to prevent or prosecute perpetrators, and the apparent state tolerance of vigilante conduct.

PETITION TO THE AFRICAN COMMISSION ON HUMAN AND PEOPLES' RIGHTS

The Foundation has submitted an urgent communication to the African Commission on Human and Peoples' Rights under Articles 55–59 of the African Charter on Human and Peoples' Rights. The petition requests provisional measures requiring South Africa to protect at-risk communities; enforce existing court orders restraining vigilante activity; guarantee unhindered access to healthcare, humanitarian assistance, and shelter; and establish effective protection mechanisms for migrants, refugees, and asylum seekers.

The Foundation further requests that the Commission conduct an urgent investigation into the patterns of xenophobic violence, issue findings that the Republic of South Africa has breached the African Charter, and recommend comprehensive compensation and reparations measures for victims and affected families.

COMMUNICATION TO THE UNITED NATIONS

The Foundation has forwarded a detailed communication to the United Nations, specifically to the Human Rights Council, documenting the pattern of xenophobic violence and state complicity. The Foundation has called upon the UN to issue an urgent statement condemning the violence, to authorize a fact-finding mission on xenophobic violence in South Africa, and to demand accountability from state actors responsible for failing to protect vulnerable populations.

COMMUNICATION TO THE SOUTH AFRICAN GOVERNMENT

The Foundation has submitted comprehensive communications to the South African government, including to the Office of the President, the Department of Justice, the National Commissioner of Police, and the Department of Health. These communications detail the crisis, provide evidence of state complicity through inaction, and demand:

• Immediate and full enforcement of all court orders interdicting vigilante violence;
• Prosecution of perpetrators, organizers, inciters, and funders of xenophobic violence;
• Prosecution of state actors (police, health officials) who have failed to protect or have actively enabled vigilantism;
• Establishment of a transparent, independent victims' compensation and reparations mechanism;
• Provision of emergency shelter, medical care, psychosocial support, and legal aid to affected persons;
• Creation of a permanent early-warning and rapid-response mechanism against xenophobic violence.

ANTITHETICAL TO PAN-AFRICANISM AND CONTINENTAL UNITY

The Foundation emphasizes that the xenophobic violence occurring in South Africa is fundamentally antithetical to the principles of pan-Africanism and the vision of African unity that has animated the continent's liberation struggles, human rights movements, and institutional frameworks.

Pan-Africanism is built on the recognition of shared African humanity, the conviction that Africa's peoples are interconnected across borders, and the commitment that no African should be rendered vulnerable merely for crossing a border in search of work, safety, or opportunity. When South Africans, themselves the beneficiaries of continental solidarity during the anti-apartheid struggle, attack, displace, and deny healthcare to their fellow Africans, this represents a betrayal of pan-African principles.

The movements driving this violence claim to act in the interests of South Africans, yet they pervert the language of democracy and self-determination into justifications for exclusion and violence. They exploit legitimate economic grievances, unemployment exceeds 43%, service delivery remains inadequate, inequality persists, but then direct fury not at the structural failures of government and economic systems, but at the most vulnerable and defenseless populations: African migrants seeking to survive.

True pan-Africanism demands that we defend African migrants against violence. It demands that we reject the scapegoating of foreigners for domestic policy failures. It demands that South Africa, a nation whose freedom was achieved with continental support, now exercise the moral leadership to protect all persons within its territory, regardless of nationality.

VIOLATIONS OF FUNDAMENTAL HUMAN RIGHTS

The Foundation underscores that the violence, denial of healthcare, forced displacement, and persecution occurring in South Africa constitute systematic violations of fundamental human rights enshrined in international law, African human rights instruments, and South Africa's own Constitution.

South Africa's Constitution, drafted in the aftermath of apartheid and the suffering of state-sponsored racial violence, guarantees to all persons in its territory the rights to life, dignity, equality, freedom from torture and cruel, inhuman, or degrading treatment, access to healthcare, protection from violence, freedom of movement, and protection of property. These rights are not conditioned on citizenship or immigration status. They are universal.

Yet migrants, refugees, and asylum seekers are being systematically denied these rights. Their right to life has been violated through violence and denial of emergency healthcare. Their right to dignity has been violated through public humiliation, mob attacks, and official indifference. Their right to equality has been violated through targeting based on nationality and perceived foreign origin. Their right to healthcare has been violated through blockade of clinics and hospitals. Their right to security of the person has been violated through assault, harassment, and intimidation. Their right to effective remedy has been violated through police refusal to take statements and judicial obstruction.

These are not isolated rights violations. They constitute a pattern consistent with crimes against humanity under international criminal law.

URGENT CALL FOR ACTION

The Max and Karl Charity Foundation calls upon African and international institutions to act with urgency and determination. This is not a matter for further consultation, diplomatic niceties, or study. Silence, delay, and impunity deepen the crisis and place more lives at risk.

We call upon the African Commission on Human and Peoples' Rights to grant provisional measures, conduct rapid investigation, and issue findings holding South Africa accountable.

We call upon the African Union to issue statements condemning xenophobic violence and state complicity, and to demand prosecution and accountability.

We call upon the International Criminal Court to initiate preliminary examination into potential crimes against humanity.

We call upon the United Nations to authorize fact-finding missions and demand accountability.

We call upon the South African government to immediately enforce court orders, prosecute perpetrators and state actors, establish reparations mechanisms, and provide humanitarian support to affected communities.

We call upon foreign governments and development partners to condition diplomatic engagement and development assistance on concrete demonstrations of protection for migrant communities.

ESTABLISHING THE XENOPHOBIA EVIDENCE AND VICTIM DOCUMENTATION DATA CENTRE

To ensure that victims are not erased from public memory and to support justice processes, the Max and Karl Charity Foundation is establishing a dedicated Xenophobia Evidence and Victim Documentation Data Centre. This centre will gather, preserve, and analyse victim testimonies, medical reports, photographs, videos, police reports, court documents, media reports, displacement records, and other open-source and community-based documentation.

The Foundation will work with affected communities, civil society organizations, lawyers, journalists, researchers, diaspora groups, and human-rights defenders to ensure that evidence is documented responsibly and that victims are treated with dignity, confidentiality, and respect. This evidence will support legal action, humanitarian intervention, public accountability, policy reform, and international advocacy.

The Max and Karl Charity Foundation will not accept the normalization of violence against Africans in Africa. The struggle against xenophobia is not an attack on South Africa; it is a defence of South Africa's constitutional values, Africa's shared humanity, and the promise that no person should become unsafe merely for being foreign in a neighboring African country.

We stand with victims. We demand justice. We insist on accountability. We will not be silent until this crisis is addressed.

MEDIA CONTACT
Max and Karl Charity Foundation
Maxwell Ezelagu, Esq.
Executive Director
Co-Author, Fractured Mirrors: How Stereotypes Distort Nations, Identities and Futures

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