Acting Police Minister Professor Firoz Cachalia said that an additional 9 000 patrollers will be deployed across the province in addition to the police and other security officials.
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As several anti-illegal immigrant marches are expected to held in KwaZulu-Natal on Tuesday, the provincial government has said there will be a strong contingent of law enforcement officials, made up of police, the army, and thousands of patrollers, will be deployed across the province to guard against criminal activity.
KZN Premier Thami Ntuli said they have met with the organisers, who have given them assurance that there will be no violence. “More significantly, perhaps, is the undertaking we received directly from the organisers of the marches, Mr Phakelumthakathi of Insizwa Nobunsizwa and Jacinta Ngobese-Zuma.
“Both gave their word to the government, their followers, and this province that their activities will be peaceful, and they distanced themselves from any calls for violence or looting.”
He said they expect that all the marchers will honour this commitment. “Organisers of any march have the responsibility to ensure that enough marshals are deployed to control marchers. We know there are those who see this as an opportunity to plunge our province back into the conflict we lived through in 2021. We see them, and we know their intentions.”
Ntuli said the damage that occurred in 2021 was extensive, and some of the businesses that were damaged then never recovered. “We are still counting the cost of those days; the damage to the province’s economy is close to R20 billion, and more than 40 000 people were affected, watching their livelihoods burn.” He confirmed that the military has been deployed to the province to guard against any threats of violence. “There is the deployment of the police, and there will also be the presence of the SANDF.”
Acting Police Minister Professor Firoz Cachalia said that an additional 9 000 patrollers will be deployed across the province in addition to the police and other security officials. The province is expected to be the epicentre of the march.
The acting police minister warned that the government wants no violence, stating that while the grievances are legitimate, “the remedy for violence is never the right response; every action must be lawful, proportional, and accountable.”
He called on the police to act responsibly, stating: “In a democratic society that we fought for, our people have the right to vote. We uphold those rights, and every SAPS member must remember that the authority of the police derives from the law, and their conduct must remain within those bounds.”
The Msunduzi Municipality and the eThekwini Metro said they are unaware of the routes of the march and the security measures put in place by the organisers. The head of Metro Police, Sbonele Mchunu, said eThekwini had not received such details, and he declined to speak further on the issue, stating that the matter is being handled by the police.
Police had not responded to a request for comment on the logistics of the marches. A source in the KwaZulu-Natal government revealed that the marchers have not filed a proper security plan detailing the march.
“We clashed with the marchers because they did not want to provide us with details that include indemnity, the details on whether they have enough marshals, and the details of their marching route. They essentially told us that they wanted to march to the Durban site, where foreign nationals are being processed.
“We said they cannot do that because they are marching to the government and not foreign nationals, and that is where things ended with eThekwini. As such, the marchers made an agreement with the SAPS.”
Mayor of the Msunduzi Municipality, Mzimkhulu Thebolla, said: “We have seen claims online that they were denied a permit to march, but that is not true; they have not submitted an application, and we urged them to do so even at this 11th hour because we want to know where they will be and what they will be doing.
“We do not know where the marchers will be coming from, but the organisers have given an assurance that there will be no violence, and we want to place hope on that. On our side, we are ready for any eventuality with all law enforcement.”
Anti-illegal immigrant movement, March and March said in social media posts that marches are planned for Durban, the South Coast and inland.
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