What is Xenowatch?
Developed by the African Centre for Migration & Society (ACMS) at the University of Witwatersrand, Xenowatch is an open source system for information collection, visualization and interactive mapping that allows crowdsourcing of information and data on xenophobic discrimination incidents in South Africa using the following reporting methods: Email, WhatsApp and Call. Xenowatch tracks, verifies, records and analyzes all forms of xenophobic discrimination as well as responses or interventions by all relevant stakeholders including government and civil society. It serves as an early warning system that notifies authorities and civil society about threats and violence and calls for immediate and appropriate response. Xenowatch data is analyzed to identify violence causal factors and characteristics of communities at risk in ways that can inform early warning and more effective conflict prevention/resolution interventions.
Latest News
OPINION: Xenophobia in South Africa’s Ivory Towers – Adekeye Adebajo
A new Business Day opinion piece by Professor and Senior Researcher (University of Pretoria) Dr Adekeye Adebajo examines the wave of Afrophobia that swept through South Africa’s higher education sector in 2026, and the troubling hostility directed at foreign academics. The article cites data from Wits University’s African Centre for Migration & Society (ACMS), which…
25 years since the Durban Declaration and Programme of Action
Today, ACMS’s Reabetswe Maputla (Research Assistant, Xenowatch) joined the commemoration dialogue in Pretoria. The DDPA remains a landmark framework for confronting racism, racial discrimination, xenophobia, and related intolerance. But discussions on migration, recent xenophobic attacks, digital technologies, and persistent socio-economic inequalities reminded us that these issues are interconnected. Addressing economic insecurity must remain central to…
Government steps up immigration controls as migration tensions rise
“Their messaging is not firm enough.” Prof. Jo Vearey (Associate Professor & Co-Director, African Centre for Migration & Society, Wits University) on the IMC’s response: “Home Affairs dysfunction is why people wait years for documentation. Enforcement alone won’t fix this.” Available here. [Credit: eNCA]
WATCH: Will foreign workers leave South Africa? I Inside story
Anti-migrant protests have continued for months, with another deadline set for 30 September. Thousands of foreign workers already left earlier this year after anti-immigrant groups issued an ultimatum. As protests turn violent, the question remains: how will the government respond? Professor Jo Vearey (Associate Professor and Co-Director, African Centre for Migration & Society, Wits University)…