The release of a report into Zulu King Goodwill Zwelithini’s alleged xenophobic statements will be delayed, the South African Human Rights Commission said on Wednesday.

New information had emerged and the report, which was scheduled to be released on April 30, would be released later to give complainants and respondents time to submit replies, SAHRC spokesperson Gail Smith said.

The commission received 31 complaints between April and June 2015 relating to Zwelithini’s remarks at a moral regeneration event in Pongola, northern KwaZulu-Natal, on or around March 15, 2015. Zwelithini reportedly told foreigners to pack their bags and go back to their home countries.

Soon after the comments were made, hundreds of foreign nationals were displaced in xenophobic attacks in KwaZulu-Natal, mostly in the Durban area. The attacks spread to Johannesburg.Smith said the complainants had until May 20 to make comments or further submissions about the new information. The report would be released "in due course".