By Charmaine Ndlela
eThekwini Mayor Cyril Xaba has asked Home Affairs Minister Leon Schreiber to urgently intervene after hundreds of foreign nationals who were processed by immigration officials remained camped outside the Department of Home Affairs offices in Durban.
Xaba said the group should be moved to suitable temporary accommodation, warning that the situation had become a humanitarian concern, particularly for women and children sleeping on the streets.
The group had gathered outside Durban’s Diakonia Centre last week, saying they feared for their safety in several KZN communities because of rising anti-immigration tensions.
On Thursday, an integrated team including eThekwini Municipality, KwaZulu-Natal police, the Department of Home Affairs and other government departments intervened to verify the legal status of those gathered at the centre.
The group was transported by bus to the Department of Home Affairs’ Durban Refugee Reception Centre on Che Guevara Road, where 457 foreign nationals were processed.
Officials found that 455 had valid documentation, while two were identified as being in the country illegally. One person was arrested for allegedly having a fraudulent permit, while another had a rejected asylum application. Five others had expired permits but were in the process of renewal.
Despite the verification process, many of the migrants refused to return to communities including Redhill, Avoca and surrounding areas, saying they feared intimidation, forced removals and violence linked to the anti-immigration tensions.
In a statement issued on Sunday, Xaba said the municipality did not have the capacity or facilities to accommodate displaced foreign nationals.
“They cannot be allowed to remain on the streets without access to basic necessities, especially in a country that prides itself on a culture of human rights,” Xaba said.
He said the municipality was prepared to support any intervention led by Home Affairs, including providing transport and deploying Metro Police officers to ensure a safe and orderly relocation.
Xaba said eThekwini was already under pressure as a disaster-prone city still housing flood victims in temporary emergency accommodation.
“I also want to stress the importance of tightening controls in the immigration offices and the elimination of fraud to ensure that permits are given to deserving asylum seekers,” he said.
The Durban standoff comes amid rising anti-immigration protests in parts of the country and renewed pressure on authorities to verify the legal status of foreign nationals.
In Katlehong, Ekurhuleni, residents on Monday marched to a local police station, demanding that the South African Police Service and the Department of Home Affairs verify the legal status of foreign nationals, including business owners operating in the area.
In Bloemfontein, a shutdown called by the National Service Delivery Forum was marred by looting and violence after alleged gang groups and some community members targeted shops, most of them owned by foreign nationals.
The shutdown, announced by National Service Delivery Forum leader Potso Motoko, was meant to highlight poor service delivery, unemployment and concerns about undocumented foreign nationals allegedly selling drugs and illicit goods.
Tensions escalated on Sunday night in parts of Mangaung before spreading to other neighbourhoods. Police arrested about 100 people after several shops were looted overnight and into Monday morning.
Meanwhile, Ghanaian authorities said about 300 Ghanaian nationals in South Africa were processed on Sunday ahead of a planned repatriation flight on Wednesday, 27 May.
Officials said about 800 Ghanaian nationals had registered for voluntary repatriation.
In a post on X, Ghana’s Foreign Affairs Minister Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa said: “I told Ghanaians in South Africa, ‘Your government has got you.’”
“Looking forward to welcoming our compatriots back to Ghana this week.”
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