Durban stays on alert after 30 June anti-immigrant marches pass peacefully

Law enforcement officers will remain deployed across eThekwini even after Tuesday’s anti-illegal immigration marches passed without major violence, loss of life or widespread damage to infrastructure, the municipality said on Wednesday.

The continued deployment comes as March and March, one of the groups behind the 30 June protests, said it would hold demonstrations every Thursday across the country until government takes action to remove undocumented immigrants from South Africa.

The 30 June marches were part of nationwide protests by groups calling for stronger action against undocumented foreign nationals and for foreigners in the country illegally to leave before the movement’s self-imposed “deadline”.

In Durban, the protest was preceded by a dispute between March and March and eThekwini Municipality over the march route, with police later helping to resolve the impasse.

The city eventually approved an alternative route, and SAPS, Metro Police, private security companies and community policing forums were placed