Thousands join Durban protest as organisers threaten weekly marches
Similar demonstrations were held across all nine provinces, with participants demanding that government address concerns around undocumented foreign nationals.
Thousands of demonstrators filled the streets of the Durban CBD on Tuesday as the March and March organisation staged the Durban leg of a nationwide campaign calling on government to intensify action against illegal immigration.
An estimated 10, 000 protesters marched from King Dinuzulu Park along Dr Pixley KaSeme Street to the Point police station under heavy police escort.
Similar demonstrations were held across all nine provinces, with participants demanding that government address concerns around undocumented foreign nationals.
Although there was a brief moment of panic when sections of the crowd began running during the march, organisers and police quickly restored order. No injuries, arrests or damage to property had been reported at the time of publication.
Addressing supporters after the march, March and March founder, Jacinta MaNgobese Zuma vowed that Tuesday’s demonstration would not be the last.
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“Government must be prepared to always have R600 million because from now on, we are going to march every Thursday. From now on, throughout South Africa, for as long as they have not left, every Thursday we are going to march,” she said.
She warned that the organisation would intensify its campaign if its demands were not met.
“The government said we were going to have a shutdown. We never said that, but in the next three months, if the government does not heed our calls, there will be a shutdown. We are pleading with our government; we are still asking them (illegal immigrants) to leave,” she said.
The demonstrations came just a day after the eThekwini Municipality officially closed the temporary Durban Drive-In repatriation site, which had been established to accommodate undocumented Malawian nationals awaiting repatriation.
According to the municipality, more than 15, 000 individuals were processed through the facility before operations were transferred to Musina, Limpopo, following an agreement between the Department of Home Affairs and the Government of Malawi to facilitate voluntary repatriation.
Mayor Cyril Xaba thanked residents, businesses, volunteers, humanitarian organisations, law enforcement agencies, and government departments for their role in ensuring that the repatriation process was conducted in a safe, lawful and humane manner.
Tuesday’s protest unfolded under a heavy security presence, with police monitoring the march to ensure public safety as demonstrators vowed to maintain pressure on government in the months ahead.
