Mashaba plans special unit to arrest illegal immigrants

26 JUN 2026, 00:30

5 min read

ActionSA president and Johannesburg mayoral candidate Herman Mashaba has vowed that, if elected mayor, he will immediately establish a police unit dedicated to arresting undocumented foreign nationals in the city.

In a wide-ranging interview with the Mail & Guardian this week, Mashaba said the undocumented migrants unit would be among the first structures he would establish, arguing that anyone in South Africa illegally must be deported.

“There will be a unit operating on a daily basis and I will want a report that I will present to the residents of Johannesburg every month,” Mashaba said.

“We will have a special unit within our metro police to make sure that when they find them, they take them to Lindela or the minister of home affairs must tell us where to take them.”

Mashaba’s party has long called for the deportation of undocumented migrants and has supported the activities of March and March, which has organised demonstrations calling for undocumented foreign nationals to leave the country.

During his tenure as a Democratic Alliance mayor from 2016 to 2019, Mashaba was accused by human rights groups and NGOs of being overly harsh on undocumented migrants and, in some instances, faced court challenges over his actions.

It was during this period that Mashaba’s administration expropriated illegally occupied buildings and entered into public-private partnerships to convert them into student accommodation and affordable rental housing.

He said that during his time as mayor, about 80% of the people found in hijacked buildings were undocumented foreign nationals.

“We had these so-called human rights lawyers and NGOs arguing with me that I was exaggerating the number and, according to them, it was 26%. Let’s say my figure of 80% was wrong. Even at 26%, you cannot build a nation or a city when 26% of the people are unaccounted for.”

“I want to make it clear to South Africans that in the city I will govern, I will not accept even one undocumented person. I will declare war against them and I want everyone to know, including the human rights lawyers, that they can take me to court and we will fight, including home affairs.”

Mashaba said the issue of undocumented foreign nationals could not be treated as a side issue because it had become a crisis.

“We have Nigerians and Mexicans dealing drugs and destroying our youth. We have Pakistanis and Bangladeshis running small shops in our communities. They are here illegally, they come and cause problems and I will never allow that.”

“I will not apologise for that. No Pakistani will run a shop under my administration. Let him first demonstrate how he got the money into the country. Let him demonstrate how he acquired South African citizenship. Businesses in Soweto will be run by citizens.”

Currently, thousands of Malawian citizens are stranded in Durban while waiting for repatriation buses from their government following an announcement by March and March that all undocumented migrants must leave the country by 30 June.

Speaking at a media briefing on Monday, Home Affairs Minister Leon Schreiber said 7,000 people had either been deported or repatriated to Malawi, while an estimated 8,000 others were still awaiting processing.

Countries such as Nigeria and Ghana have also repatriated citizens from South Africa ahead of the 30 June deadline.

“Look at what is happening in Durban. The number is 10 times higher than they anticipated and some of the people there were wanted by police for serious crimes. 

“If Durban is dealing with that kind of problem, I can tell you Johannesburg is dealing with a problem 10 times bigger and that’s just with Malawians.”

Asked what he would promise Johannesburg residents if elected, Mashaba said he would ensure that services reached all communities and would prioritise upgrading existing infrastructure while building new infrastructure.

He said infrastructure development was critical and that roads needed to be built and resurfaced.

“We need to upgrade our water and sewer systems. The government has allowed massive developments in gated communities without upgrading the supporting infrastructure.”

Mashaba acknowledged, however, that fixing Johannesburg within a single five-year term would be impossible.

“Unless you smoke something from Nigeria or Mexico, it’s not humanly possible. When I left office, there was a R170 billion infrastructure backlog. Given the deterioration since then, it is probably now more than R200 billion and I will be lucky to have R6 billion a year available for infrastructure.”

He added that he would collapse entities such as City Power and Johannesburg Water, arguing that they were unnecessary and costly.

“I have got to collapse all of them. They should be run by Section 56 managers reporting directly to the city manager so that we can improve revenue collection and speed up service delivery.

“When there is a problem with electricity, I should not have to go through a board. I should be able to approach the city manager directly and the city manager can deal with the accounting officer because these boards are simply unnecessary bureaucracy.”

Mashaba said he would also prioritise the redevelopment of the Johannesburg inner city, Randburg and Roodepoort, arguing that revitalisation projects would create jobs and stimulate economic activity.

“During the construction phase alone, many jobs are created.

“In three or four years, when these buildings are ready, imagine the housing opportunities available. Students and low-income workers could live in the inner city, allowing people to move out of informal settlements and into decent accommodation.”