A strong police contingent, including dozens of officers, at least four police buses, several tactical vehicles and what appeared to be a mobile prisoner trailer, remained stationed outside the Home Affairs offices on Che Guevara Road in Durban’s Berea on Thursday, ahead of a biker’s convoy by anti-illegal immigration group March and March.

KwaZulu-Natal police spokesperson Colonel Robert Netshiunda said the deployment had been in place for the past two weeks and declined to say whether additional officers would be brought in for the biker convoy, scheduled to begin at 5pm, citing “operational” reasons.

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The area was “safe”, he told Inside Politics.

Across the road from the police, about 30 March and March supporters were gathered near the offices, an area that has been the scene of violent confrontations between protesters, foreign nationals and police in the past weeks.

Hours earlier on Thursday, a foreign national was beaten to death by a mob of about 50 people in Russell Street in central Durban, just a day after March and March and e-hailing drivers staged a motorcade through the city.

Police have not said that murder is connected to March and March supporters, and have said that investigations are ongoing.

The March and March supporters on Che Guevara road, who gather opposite Home Affairs offices almost daily, told Inside Politics they did not want to be photographed or have their names published.

Some, however, were willing to talk, while others in the group were sitting in camping chairs or simply standing about in the shade of donated gazebos.

One man was putting the finishing touches to a feather duster that appeared to have been fashioned into a rudimentary knopkiere. Others were openly carrying sticks.

Another man, with sunglasses on and the rest of his face obscured by a cotton scarf, said he had to dress that way to “hide” because threats had been made against him “by my own people”.

A woman wearing a March and March T-shirt said she was with the group daily. Asked where she slept, she laughed and said, “soldiers don’t sleep”.

The woman said she wanted “foreign criminals” out of the area. “We have our own criminals too, just look at the Madlanga [Commission], but first these ones must go,” she said.

Durban residents and businesses have been on high alert for weeks as anti-illegal immigrant protests – some large and organised, others appearing to be opportunistic and ragtag –  take place sporadically throughout the city and some of its suburbs on almost a daily basis.

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On Wednesday, a video emerged of a mob in the CBD beating a man believed to be a foreign national. Police were able to intervene. Netshiunda did not offer any comment on the assault when asked.

Also on Wednesday, a group of men were harassing businesses close to the Durban Botanic Gardens along Cowey Road. The men had covered faces and sticks. Security groups who were present said they understood the men were part of March and March, but this could not be verified by Inside Politics.

Later on, stores were attacked – with one nearly set alight –  on Berea Road, close to the Durban University of Technology.

Two weeks ago, protestors targeted foreign-owned businesses in the Berea area, where they looted shops and set vehicles alight. Some of the torched shops were locally-owned.

At Wednesday night’s e-hailing rally, March and March leader Jacinta Ngobese-Zuma threatened a larger protest on 10 November if government went ahead with its online asylum registration system.

Home Affairs wants to introduce the system by that date, allowing asylum seekers to register their intention to apply online and obtain appointments at refugee reception offices.

The decision follows a July Constitutional Court ruling that struck down provisions allowing asylum seekers without transit visas to be deported.

Online registration, however, does not automatically grant asylum or legal refugee status.

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Anti-illegal immigration movement March and March is demonstrating in central Durban today, a week after a confrontation with migrants and refugees on Che Guevara Road turned violent.

The group has returned to the area outside the Department of Home Affairs’ refugee reception office, where more than 100 migrants and refugees have been living on the pavement for months, after being displaced from their homes and businesses during earlier anti-immigration protests.

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March and March says the encampment has become a health hazard and wants authorities to act, while the refugees maintain that they are legally documented and say they will not leave without safe temporary accommodation.

Last Thursday’s demonstration descended into violence, with police using rubber bullets and pepper spray to separate March and March supporters and migrants. Public Order Police were deployed to the

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Police have appointed a multidisciplinary team of detectives and crime intelligence officers to investigate the murder of March and March Gauteng leader Andile Mvuyiselwa Somgaxa.

Somgaxa was shot in the driveway of his home in Greenfield, Johannesburg, on 4 July and died in hospital from his injuries on 9 July.

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In a statement on Tuesday, SAPS said Acting National Police Commissioner Lieutenant-General Puleng Dimpane assembled the team in consultation with Gauteng Provincial Commissioner Lieutenant-General Tommy Mthombeni, assigning seasoned detectives and crime intelligence officers to lead the investigation.

Dimpane condemned the attack and said police would leave no stone unturned in identifying, tracing and bringing those responsible to justice.

“The appointment of a multidisciplinary team underscores the seriousness with which SAPS is treating this matter. We are committed to conducting a thorough investigation to

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Police have opened an inquest docket after a foreign national was found dead at a building in central Durban, hours before widespread anti-illegal immigration marches were held in KwaZulu-Natal and across the country.

KwaZulu-Natal police spokesperson Colonel Robert Netshiunda said Durban Central police were investigating after the man was found dead on Margaret Mncadi Avenue on Monday night.

Netshiunda said reports indicated that three foreign nationals had allegedly broken into a storage facility in the building and had been staying there for three days.

On Monday night, the group reportedly heard noises and believed they were being targeted. One of the men fell from the eighth floor and was declared dead at the scene, police said.

Another person fled, while the third remained at the scene.

Police said the immigration status of the deceased and the person who remained behind was still being verified. They have not

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March and March founder Jacinta Ngobese-Zuma has distanced herself from a high-level meeting between Cyril Ramaphosa and activists Ngizwe Mchunu and Nkosikhona Ndabandaba, also known as Phakel’umthakathi, saying she only learnt about the engagement through social media.

The meeting took place on Monday evening, ahead of the planned nationwide demonstrations on 30 June over illegal immigration and related issues.

In a social media post, Ngobese-Zuma said she was not informed about the meeting and only became aware of it after posts about the engagement began circulating online.

The Presidency confirmed that Ramaphosa met with Mchunu and Ndabandaba, leaders of Insizwa Nobunsizwa, to discuss the planned protests.

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During the meeting, the President emphasised to both of them that the right to protest is coupled with the responsibility to observe the law and to protest peacefully. 

Having listened to

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DA federal leader and Cape Town mayor Geordin Hill-Lewis has told South Africans not to turn anger over unemployment, crime and failing public services into violence against foreign nationals, saying the country’s real crisis is a weak economy and a broken state.

“South Africa’s deepest problem is not a vulnerable person selling vegetables on a corner who happens to not be born here,” Hill-Lewis said in an address on Thursday night.

“It is an economy that does not grow, a state that does not work, and a government that has failed to create jobs, secure our borders, fight crime and deliver basic services.”

His remarks come as South Africa is bracing for protest action on 30 June by anti-illegal-immigration groups, including March and March, which have set that date as a “deadline” for undocumented foreign nationals to leave the country.

March and March has denied calling for

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South African cities and border towns are facing mounting pressure from large-scale repatriation operations and the upcoming 30 June anti-illegal immigration protests, with about 13,200 foreign nationals processed through Beitbridge and OR Tambo International Airport in the past five days.

Border Management Authority (BMA) Commissioner Dr Michael Masiapato told the SABC that about 9,000 Malawian nationals and 3,000 Zimbabwean nationals had been processed through Beitbridge Border Post. At the same time, a further 900 Ghanaians and 300 Nigerians were repatriated through OR Tambo International Airport.

He said the N1 corridor leading to Beitbridge and the N4 corridor towards the Lebombo Border Post remained the primary routes being used in the operations.

“Over the past five days, we have facilitated the movement of around 9,000 Malawians through Beitbridge. These include individuals repatriated through arrangements made by their government, as well as those deported through processes facilitated by the

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Chaos erupted at Durban’s Sherwood Park on Wednesday after hundreds of Malawian nationals clashed with police during a protest over delays in their repatriation from South Africa.

Police fired stun grenades, tear gas and rubber bullets after tensions escalated when officials from the Department of Home Affairs attempted to move migrants into Sherwood Hall for document verification and processing.

The group, which has been camping at the site for weeks, is demanding direct transportation back to Malawi and has rejected plans to first transfer them to the Lindela Repatriation Centre.

According to eyewitness reporters, the situation spiralled out of control after Home

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The South African National Taxi Council (SANTACO) has warned that planned anti-illegal immigration protests and threats of mass action could disrupt public transport, damage businesses and undermine economic stability, as tensions rise ahead of a June 30 deadline set by anti-immigration groups for undocumented foreign nationals to leave the country.

In a statement issued on Tuesday, SANTACO said it supported lawful immigration controls, effective border management and proper documentation, but cautioned that immigration reform should not be pursued through intimidation, transport blockades or actions that restrict movement.

“As a law-abiding organisation representing one of the country’s largest public transport sectors, SANTACO supports the principle that all migration into South Africa should take place through lawful channels and in accordance with the country’s immigration laws and regulations,” the council said.

The statement comes amid growing anti-migrant protests across parts of the country, including demonstrations linked to the March and

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