“Malema Warned Us”: Venda Man Allegedly Assaulted After Being Mistaken for a Foreigner, SA Stunned

• A Venda man was allegedly manhandled and robbed of his cellphone by anti-illegal immigration protesters in Alexandra, Johannesburg
• The protesters mistook the man for an undocumented foreign national before a frontman intervened after he explained his identity
• South Africans online raised fears that the protests were deepening tribal divisions rather than targeting illegal immigration

A Venda man was allegedly assaulted and had his cellphone stolen by anti-illegal immigration protesters in Alexandra, Johannesburg, after they mistook him for an undocumented foreign national on 9 July 2026. A post shared on X by MDNnewss shows the man being moved along with the crowd of protesters.

The South African man is mistaken for a foreigner

As they marched, he managed to get the attention of one of the leaders at the front and explained that he was South African. The leader relayed the message to the group, and an attempt was made to find whoever had taken his phone.

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Watch the X video that sparked the debate on the streets of Alexandra below:

Mzansi divided over Alexandra protests

The incident drew widespread concern online, with many South Africans warning that the protests were beginning to cross a dangerous line from targeting undocumented foreigners into something that looked far more like tribalism.

User @stevestansa wrote:

"Kuningi (it's a lot). Vendas are not safe, mos."

User @leshego94326 said:

It's late to try to tarnish the image of protesters."

User @nike_yada commented:

"Malema warned us, but we acted intelligently, angisho (isn't it) 🤣?"

User @GoodwillButhel1 wrote:

"This is wrong in many ways; this agenda is being pushed by amaZulu akithi (our Zulu brothers)."

User @201043202 said:

"My Lesotho cousins don't even suffer xenophobia, but Limpopo people are always victims! Why?"

@hgerrards warned:

"It's now turning into tribalism."

3 Briefly News articles about immigrant protests

• A South African woman was praised for keeping her family together after choosing to relocate with her husband to Nigeria before the illegal immigrants march that was planned for 30 June 2026.
• A group of foreign nationals were escorted out of KwaZulu-Natal after community members were told that there were no keys to open the door at the neighbourhood home.
• Two men filmed a congested Johannesburg CBD, shocked that foreign nationals had returned to the streets after the March and March protests, sparking an online debate.

Source: Briefly News