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.
Reports & Publications
“This fight is for all of us” – Movement Building for (Migrant) Rights in South Africa – Culmination Research Report
South Africa’s migrant rights sector is navigating a period of intense pressure and political volatility. Rising inequality, austerity, and deteriorating public services intersect with securitised migration reforms and xenophobic populism, creating a hostile environment for migrants and those who support them. While constitutional guarantees remain strong on paper, bureaucratic barriers, vigilante mobilisation, and exclusionary policy…
INTERVIEW: Immigration Challenges and Xenophobic Discrimination in South Africa.
Tune in to eNCA tonight (28.04.2026) as Prof. Loren Landau from the African Centre for Migration & Society (ACMS) joins Abigail Visagie to discuss immigration challenges and xenophobic discrimination in South Africa.
ILLEGAL IMMIGRANTS BLAMED FOR UNEMPLOYMENT IN SOUTH AFRICA?
NEWS – This morning on Radio 702, Prof. Loren B Landau (African Centre for Migration & Society (ACMS)) addressed the widespread tendency to blame immigrants for South Africa’s unemployment crisis. He explained that the challenges South Africans face, such as unemployment and housing shortages, are not caused by foreign nationals. Rather, politicians who have failed…
