March and March protests leave immigrant traders’ livelihoods in ruins

Dozens of immigrant traders who usually traded at the Golden Arrow terminus in Bellville are staying away because of anti-immigrant protests.

When we visited the once bustling site last week, it was quiet with only a handful of traders. Many stalls were deserted.

Some traders we spoke to said they had tried to set up shop in other areas but were stopped. They have not traded at the bus site since the March and March 30 June “deadline” demanding “illegal immigrants” leave South Africa.

“I need to pay rent, put food on the table, and pay the bills,” a Zimbabwean man who asked to remain anonymous told GroundUp.

He said he has been selling clothes in Bellville for about five years. He left Zimbabwe in 2008 when its economy collapsed.

While he has not been directly threatened, he has witnessed others being harassed.

“They will take your stuff and throw it on the ground,” he said. “It hurts, but as much as it hurts, it’s their country, and they’re also marginalised people.”

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March and March supporters protest against illegal immigration in Bellville on 23 May 2026.

Another trader, who introduced herself as Meye, said she has had a permit to trade since 2010. She fled the DRC in 2003.

“We are legal; everything is correct. But they say we are foreigners and we need to go back to our country.”

A single mother of three, she says she is now struggling to feed and school her children.

Another single mother, Safia, says she has been unable to trade despite having refugee status and a trading permit. She came from Somalia in 2010. She said law enforcement needs to protect the traders better.

“I can’t sleep at night because of what is happening. I can’t even pay my rent. I can’t support my children,” she said.

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Abdulhakim Husein of the Somali Association of South Africa

Abdulhakim Husein, Western Cape director of the Somalia Association of South Africa, told GroundUp that he had been assisting traders since the start of July.

He said many asylum seekers and refugees are traders as they have to rely on being self-employed. They came from Somalia, DRC, Zimbabwe, Angola and Burundi.

He said that at a meeting on 13 July (which the city confirmed), it was agreed that traders with valid permits should be allowed to trade. But on 14 July, they received a message warning them about a March and March protest in the area.

Husein said they have approached a legal NGO for assistance.

Central Bellville has a large informal trading community.

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City spokesperson Luthando Tyhalibongo said foreign nationals whose immigration status has been verified by Home Affairs are permitted to trade with a valid permit. These cost R78 per month.

“It is a concern whenever permitted traders, whether South African citizens or foreign nationals lawfully permitted to trade, are prevented from engaging in legal economic activity,” he said.

He said intimidation and threats should be reported to SAPS.

Read:
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Permit chaos leaves Joburg’s informal traders in limbo

Farhiyo Mahmad has a South African ID, yet she was threatened and told she was not allowed to trade.

© 2026 GroundUp. This article was first published here.

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