Forced Migration Studies Programme

From 14-17 November 2009, De Doorns, a farming area in Breede Valley Municipality, Western Cape Province, was the scene of violence that resulted in the forceful displacement of an estimated 3000 Zimbabweans and the destruction and looting of their dwellings by their South African neighbours.

South African policing stands at a critical juncture. The police have negotiated more than a decade of democratic change. Still, there is growing uncertainty about whether the South African Police Service (SAPS) remains capable of meeting the challenges of building an open democratic society.

Although violence against foreign nationals and other ‘outsiders’ has been a long-standing feature of post-Apartheid South Africa, the intensity and scale of the May 2008 attacks were extraordinary. What started off as an isolated incidence of anti-foreigner violence in Alexandra on 11 May, quickly spread to other townships and informal settlements across the country. After two weeks and the deployment of the Army, the violence subsided. In its wake, 62 people, including 21 South Africans, were dead; at least 670 wounded; dozens of women raped; and at least 100 000 persons displaced and property worth of millions of Rand looted, destroyed or seized by local residents and leaders.