Mkhwanazi Confirms Investigation into Home Affairs Officials Following Durban Violence
KwaZulu-Natal police commissioner Lieutenant General Nhlanhla Mkhwanazi has confirmed that police are investigating senior Home Affairs officials accused of facilitating the irregular entry of foreign nationals into South Africa.
Mkhwanazi was speaking in Durban today, Friday, following violent protests that erupted in Durban and Soweto over immigration and asylum applications.
Thursday’s unrest saw 14 vehicles torched in Durban’s CBD, with shops looted and vandalised. In Soweto, 10 vehicles were burned, while foreign-owned businesses along Khumalo Street were targeted. Police fired rubber bullets to disperse crowds, and soldiers were deployed to Orlando West.
Police said the Durban clashes followed an alleged assault on a protester by foreign nationals. Three foreign nationals were arrested in connection with the incident, while investigations into public violence and arson continued.
The protests followed a Constitutional Court judgment allowing certain people who entered South Africa irregularly or missed asylum application deadlines to apply for asylum. Home Affairs issued a directive on 28 September requiring refugee reception offices to accept such applications, but withdrew it today, Friday after offices became overwhelmed and security concerns emerged.
The department said it would develop a new approach to comply with the court ruling, which remains binding.
Mkhwanazi has previously warned residents against taking immigration enforcement into their own hands, stressing that police are responsible for checking documentation and arresting undocumented people.