Foreign traders in Protea Glen, Soweto, were open for business on Monday despite pressure to shut down ahead of an unofficial June 30 deadline set by some community members.
Thousands of undocumented migrants are stranded in Cape Town and Johannesburg as humanitarian groups race to provide food, shelter and medical support.
Major General Feroz Khan, due to testify at the Madlanga Commission on Tuesday, was shot by two gunmen in Houghton on Sunday night and is in a critical condition in hospital.
Enoch Lucas has a permit, sends every rand home to Mozambique, and cannot afford the R6,000 taxi fare to leave — but the June 30 deadline has no force in law.
Tebogo Komane and her husband both work for municipalities but still cut back on groceries and electricity to pay their children's private school fees each month.