KwaZulu-Natal police commissioner Lt-Gen Nhlanhla Mkhwanazi has issued a stern warning against protests targeting foreign nationals in the province.
The March and March Movement, alongside various civic groups, has been leading demonstrations primarily in the Durban CBD demanding the immediate removal of undocumented immigrants from the city. Recent protests have escalated into violence, with reports of locals allegedly attacking foreign nationals.
Speaking to Newzroom Afrika, Mkhwanazi urged citizens to refrain from attempting to verify the documentation status of individuals, emphasising that such tasks are strictly the responsibility of state authorities.
“Citizens do not have the responsibility to check whether people are documented or not,” he said. “They lack the necessary skills to determine if the documents a person is holding are legitimate.”
He encouraged the public to report any suspicions regarding undocumented individuals to the South African Police Service (SAPS), assuring that the police would investigate and carry out deportations where necessary.
The current vigilante approach adopted by protesters would inevitably lead to tragedy, he warned: “If we continue this spree of intimidation, something tragic will happen. Someone will get hurt because protesters may encounter someone who looks like me and assume they are a foreign national, when they are actually South African.”
Their march seems to target those that are mostly of African origin, and they are not necessarily directing their anger towards other foreign nationals in the country. We have the whole world here, but we don’t see this kind of march directed toward other [non-African] nationals
— Lt-Gen Nhlanhla Mkhwanazi, KZN police commissioner
Mkhwanazi highlighted the impossibility of determining nationality based on physical appearance, noting that many South Africans share similar features with people from across the continent.
“We have brothers and sisters in this country who look similar to those in foreign countries. You cannot simply assume someone is a foreigner based on the look of their face.”
He expressed concern over the specific demographic being targeted, noting a disturbing pattern of Afrophobia.
“What becomes even more disturbing is that their march seems to target those that are mostly of African origin, and they are not necessarily directing their anger towards other foreign nationals in the country. We have the whole world here, but we don’t see this kind of march directed toward other [non-African] nationals.”
Regarding the police response, Mkhwanazi noted that the constitution allows for protests without explicit police permission. He explained that the public should not be surprised to see gatherings where the police appear to be observing rather than intervening immediately.
“We encourage people to provide notice so that we can plan accordingly to protect them as well.”
He said SAPS management will meet with the leadership of the March and March Movement “to remind them of the rights of others” and to emphasise that they cannot legally threaten individuals based on assumptions about their legal status.
The metro has battled racial divisions and Afrophobia for decades. TimesLIVE has documented many of the outbreaks with articles including “Flames of hate” in 2015, and in 2019 with “We need to open our minds” and the SA Human Rights Commission’s concerns after a flare-up of violence in 2021.
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