A protest by foreign nationals in Durban has sharpened tensions around immigration, public safety and the role of civic group March and March. On Tuesday, a group of foreign nationals blocked the entrance to Durban Central police station, demanding protection and accusing March and March of creating fear through recent marches and hostile messaging.
The protesters said they no longer feel safe in their communities or workplaces. Some claimed they had been threatened and assaulted in the wake of the March and March demonstrations in three provinces, where the group has called for tougher action against undocumented foreign nationals.
One of the protest leaders, Eric Jean Bukito, said members of their group had been chased away and told to go back home. He also alleged that more than five people in their cohort had recently been injured.
Police move in as protest turns chaotic
The situation escalated when public order police moved to disperse the group after they demanded to camp at the police station. Chaotic scenes followed, with stun grenades and teargas used to break up the protest.
After being removed from the station, the protesters regrouped and later camped outside the Diakonia refugee centre in Durban’s CBD. That shift underlined how serious the safety concerns had become for those involved, even after the initial demonstration was dispersed.
The images and confrontation also added to the sense that the immigration debate is moving beyond political slogans and into a more combustible space on the ground. That is an inference based on the protest action, the police response and the protesters’ stated fear.
March and March says claims are false
March and March have strongly denied the accusations. Leader Jacinta Ngobese-Zuma dismissed the protesters’ claims and argued that the deeper problem is the government’s failure to enforce immigration laws properly.
She said the country had been left exposed to people whose intentions were “definitely not good for this country” and repeated the organisation’s call for stricter measures against undocumented migrants. Her response made clear that March and March is not backing away from its core message, even as foreign nationals blame the group for rising fear and hostility.
Tensions keep rising with no easy resolution
The Durban standoff shows how charged the immigration debate has become. On one side are foreign nationals saying they are under threat and want protection. On the other is a movement insisting it is raising legitimate concerns about law enforcement and undocumented migration.
For the government, that creates a difficult test. Authorities are now under pressure not only to enforce immigration law, but also to prevent fear, violence and confrontation from escalating further. In Durban, at least, that balance is looking harder to hold.