The Inter-Ministerial Committee (IMC) on Migration on Sunday condemned the damage to businesses, property and vehicles caused by anti-immigration riots in Durban. Its chairperson, Minister Mmamoloko Kubayi, said a crime is still a crime.
Kubayi spoke at a briefing on the Constitutional Court judgment on asylum seekers. She gave the example of a woman whose business was destroyed. She said the violence and the disruption to public order were not acceptable.
“Freedom of speech is protected by the Constitution, but incitement of violence is not protected by the Constitution,” Kubayi said, according to IOL.
The IMC denied that South Africans were being targeted. It said the government was trying to keep public order. Kubayi urged South Africans to show restraint during protests and to work with the government.
Kubayi said deportations would continue under the law. “Those who are in the country illegally and have not, and those whose claims have been finally rejected, after any review or appeal, will continue to be deported as the law requires,” she said.
She said protection applies only to people who have asked to make a first application for asylum. Kubayi also said the government had been advised that it can ask the courts for a supervisory order.
According to Kubayi, such an order would let the court oversee how the judgment is put into practice. She said it may also include a suspension period to give the Department of Home Affairs time to build its capacity.
The IMC said the Minister of Home Affairs is drafting new laws in line with the Revised White Paper on Citizenship, Immigration and Refugee Protection. Cabinet has already approved the white paper.
The riots started on Thursday, when more than 10 cars were burnt in the Durban CBD. Protesters demanded that undocumented foreign nationals be sent home and that asylum applications be stopped at once.
On Friday, a house was set alight in the Berea area and a motorbike was burnt on Clark Road. A second-hand tyre shop on a vacant plot was also set on fire. Umbilo CPF chairman Vaughan Reid described the situation as volatile and said protesters were stoning cars and windows.
Police used tear gas, stun grenades and rubber bullets as large crowds marched through the city. Police spokesperson Colonel Robert Netshiunda said 15 suspects were arrested on Friday night. This brought the total number of arrests to 19.
“The suspects will face charges of public violence and malicious property damage, with the possibility of other charges being added,” Netshiunda said. He said detectives were still searching for the people who burnt vehicles and buildings.
KwaZulu-Natal Premier Thami Ntuli called for the army after police were outnumbered. Soldiers from the South African National Defence Force were then deployed to patrol the Durban CBD with SAPS members.
IOL reported widespread business closures in the inner city. A total of 14 burnt vehicles were still standing in central streets, mainly along Anton Lembede Street and Joseph Nduli Street.
Police also arrested a man who threatened to shut down Moses Mabhida Stadium to stop the MTN8 final between Orlando Pirates and Mamelodi Sundowns. In Gauteng, four people were arrested after anti-immigration protests in the Johannesburg CBD.
Source: this article is based on reporting by IOL. Image: IOL. Written with the help of AI and published by the Tzaneen Voice Business desk. See our Editorial Standards.
Anelisa Nkuna covers business and money news for Tzaneen Voice. Anelisa reports on the rand, fuel prices, interest rates, jobs, Eskom, Transnet, farming and company results. The aim is simple: explain what the numbers mean for household budgets, small businesses and workers in South Africa.