Durban's planned March and March protest on 30 June will proceed despite ongoing discussions about its route, as security measures are heightened amid concerns over potential unrest and illegal immigration.
Image: Pedro Mapelo
Durban's planned March and March protest on 30 June will proceed despite ongoing discussions about its route, as security measures are heightened amid concerns over potential unrest and illegal immigration.
Durban Metro Police spokesperson Colonel Boysie Zungu said organisers and city officials had agreed that the march would begin at King Dinuzulu Park but had not yet reached agreement on its end point.
"I can confirm that we had discussions with representatives of March and March," Zungu told IOL.
"We agreed on the starting point of the march, which will be King Dinuzulu Park. Where we disagree is on the end point. They wanted the march to end at the old drive-in site, while we proposed City Hall, where government representatives will meet with them."
Zungu said the municipality believed it would be unsafe for the march to end at the old drive-in site, which currently houses thousands of migrants seeking repatriation amid concerns surrounding the movement's 30 June deadline for undocumented foreign nationals to leave South Africa.
"That is where discussions currently stand. But there is no truth to claims that permission for the march was denied," he said.
March and March leader Jacinta Ngobese-Zuma has maintained that the demonstration will proceed regardless, following confusion over whether the municipality had granted permission.
The planned march has prompted heightened security measures across the country amid concerns about possible unrest. Although Ngobese-Zuma has said the protests will be peaceful, some businesses have expressed fears of violence, looting and intimidation.
"I'm closing my shop on Tuesday. I'm not taking any chances, even though I'm South African," Ahmed, a shop owner in Durban's central business district, told IOL.
Private security companies and businesses have reportedly increased security ahead of the march, while government has reportedly allocated R600 million to strengthen policing capacity and respond to any potential disruptions.
March and March has described the protest as a campaign against illegal immigration aimed at pressuring government to strengthen enforcement against undocumented foreign nationals.