XENOBAROMETER: Ugandan man nearly killed by March and March mob speaks from hospital

Material Warning: The video link listed below includes graphic scenes of violence.

A Ugandan guy who was assaulted by a mob of March and March advocates in Durban on Wednesday, 21 October 2026, has actually explained his brush with death from an Addington Hospital ward where he is recuperating from his injuries.

In a video of the attackshared extensively on social networks recently, the guy is seen running before he is surrounded by protesters wielding a selection of weapons. As he is assaulted, he runs towards 2 authorities in yellow bibs, comprehended to be eThekwini Municipality peace officers. The officers are seen attempting to step in, however quickly go back.

In a matter of 20 seconds, aggressors are seen to land more than a lots blows on the guy, who stumbles to the tarmac and covers his head. As a police car gets in the frame, the assailants are seen to gradually distribute.

Material Warning: The video link above consists of graphic scenes of violence.

A voice note flowing on WhatsApp declared that the male had actually passed away. Viewfinder validated that he was alive after talking to different immigrant neighborhood leaders in Durban. A leader in the Ugandan neighborhood, who asked that he be recognized just as “Andrew”, accepted help with an interview with the victim, who was recuperating in health center.

Andrew accompanied this reporter to Addington Hospital on Friday night. There, the 45-year-old victim remained in bed, surrounded by loved ones. He asked, also, to be recognized just by his given name– “Simon”– for worry of additional reprisal from anti-immigrant protesters.

He stated that he was at deal with Yusuf Dadoo Street in the Durban city centre on Wednesday afternoon when he heard the noises of a close-by demonstration arranged by March and March. Fearing a conflict with the marchers, he chose to go home.

He was strolling down Yusuf Dadoo Street when he saw another group of marchers heading straight towards him. Some were bring weapons and using masks and balaclavas, he stated. He chose to dash. When the group observed him running, he stated, they provided chase.

Simon’s eyes started to well up with tears when he pertained to this part of the story.

“He had a hard time to flee, he believed he discovered a safe instructions when he saw the cops,” stated Andrew, describing the eThekwini peace officers who can be seen in the video.

Passed out

Simon suffered a bloody leak injury on his back, which he thinks was brought on by a club with a nail driven through it. He stated that he temporarily passed out.

“I lost my phone, my wallet, my files, “he stated. He does not understand how.

Andrew, who existed throughout the attack, however got away injury, drove Simon to King Dinizulu Hospital for emergency situation emergency treatment and X-rays.

The attack on Simon took place last Wednesday afternoon. Early the following early morning, another foreign nationwide was beaten to death by a mob of 50 individuals in the Durban city centre, according to a cops declaration.

Cops consequently stated that 5 guys, aged in between 19 and 46, had actually been taken in for questioning over the murder on Thursday, and over a tried murder on Wednesday. The latter occurrence is comprehended to be the attack on Simon captured on video.

Viewfinder has actually formerly reported that armed groups of March and March fans have actually been implicated in a string of targeted attacks on foreign nationals in Durban throughout 2026. More than 400 individuals, practically all recorded refugees and asylum candidates, were displaced from their homes and camped for months on the pavement outside the Department of Home Affairs workplaces on Che Guevara Road in Durban.

The group has actually considering that distributed: some have actually self-repatriated to their native lands; others have actually taken haven in safe homes around Durban.

In reaction to inquiries previously this month, KwaZulu-Natal cops representative Colonel Robert Netshiunda stated that authorities in the province “are not familiar with any xenophobic attacks at any part of the province”.

Asked today over WhatsApp for explanation of this declaration and whether the current murder and tried murder have actually altered the outlook of the authorities, Netshiunda did not react.

Violence ‘throughout 2026’

The Siyafana Sonke Action Campaign, a civil society union that supports refugees in Durban, has actually logged events of violence versus foreign nationals throughout 2026.

“Since May 2026, Durban has actually seen a constant escalation in the violence directed versus foreign nationals by anti-migrant groups,” stated Yeshelen Govender of Siyafana Sonke.

“A pattern is plainly recognizable: as anti-immigrant marches development, little groups of masked and equipped males bleed off and the monitoring authorities detachments end up being extended. These little groups stop individuals to perform ‘file checks’ or interrogations in isiZulu. Failure to instantly show a commanding grasp of the regional language usually leads to a pounding.”

March and March has actually regularly characterised itself as a non-violent motion and distanced itself from advocates who commit acts of violence.

March and March representative Sandile Dube was sent out a question asking whether he had any discuss the acts of violence that had actually accompanied March and March occasions recently. He did not instantly react. DM

XenoBarometer tracks the anti-immigrant motion and its effect. We intend to appear underreported stories, paying attention to possible rights abuses, emerging patterns in anti-immigrant mobilisation and failures in the federal government’s reaction. It is produced by the Southern Africa Accountability Journalism Project (SA|AJP), an effort of the Henry Nxumalo Foundation dealing with Viewfinder and with the monetary help of the European Union. It can under no situations be considered showing the position of the EU.