PIETERMARTZBURG – South African police have opened a murder investigation following the death of a 29-year-old Malawian national in Pietermaritzburg, as hundreds of foreign nationals gather at a repatriation centre fearing xenophobic violence.

The victim was attacked following a protest in the KwaZulu-Natal town on Friday. He fled to an informal settlement before falling into a river, police said.

“He was found on the riverbend with a cut on the head and injuries on the mouth,” according to a police statement released on Tuesday.

Local councillor Suraya Reddy confirmed the man’s identity after his family came forward. “His family identified him, he is a Malawian national,” Reddy said.

Police said they could not release the victim’s nationality until authorities from his home country had been formally notified. The Malawian government said it was investigating reports that one of its citizens had been killed.

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Several hundred Malawians have been gathering at a centre in Pietermaritzburg since Friday, requesting repatriation. A large police presence was visible in the area on Tuesday.

The incident comes amid weeks of sometimes violent protests against undocumented migrants across South Africa, which have claimed at least two lives in the southern coastal town of Mossel Bay.

Small citizen-led groups have issued an unofficial ultimatum demanding undocumented migrants leave the country by 30 June. The deadline has no legal authority but has already prompted thousands of people from Ghana, Nigeria, Malawi and Mozambique to depart.

The tensions are unfolding ahead of local government elections scheduled for 4 November.

South Africa, one of Africa’s largest economies, has a history of deadly xenophobic violence. In 2008, riots targeting foreign nationals left 62 people dead. Violence in 2019 saw armed mobs attack foreign-owned businesses around Johannesburg, killing at least 12 people, ten of whom were South African citizens.

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