Durban's Mayor Cyril Xaba has urgently appealed to the Minister of Home Affairs to relocate foreign nationals camping outside government offices, amid rising tensions and humanitarian concerns.
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The mayor of eThekwini Municipality, Cyril Xaba, has made an urgent appeal to the Minister of Home Affairs to intervene and relocate a group of foreign nationals currently camping outside the department’s Durban offices.
The group has been sleeping on the streets after they were moved from the Diakonia Centre in the Durban CBD last week. The group of about 300 people had camped at the centre seeking refuge allegedly because they fear for their lives, which they claimed has been threatened by anti-illegal immigrant groups in their various areas of abode.
The group was taken by the authorities to a Home Affairs facility in Moore Road, Durban for official processing last Thursday. According to the municipality, approximately 300 foreign nationals were processed, with municipal officials reporting that only one individual was found without valid documentation and was subsequently detained.
According to Xaba, some of the foreigners are currently still outside the office and the municipality does not have the infrastructure or facilities to house them, noting that leaving them on the pavements without basic necessities is a direct violation of the country's human rights culture.
"I also want to stress the importance of tightening controls in the immigration offices and the elimination of fraud to ensure that permits are given to deserving asylum seekers," Xaba said.
The mayor stated that the City is prepared to deploy resources, including transport and Metro Police, to ensure a safe, orderly relocation once the Minister identifies suitable refugee facilities.
The presence of the group outside government offices follows escalating tensions in the Durban CBD, driven by recent campaigns from the anti-immigration movement March and March. The group's leader, prominent activist and former radio presenter Jacinta Ngobese-Zuma, took to Facebook to openly question the validity of the foreign nationals' fears.
“The mayor’s refugees sleep outside the Home Affairs but they are scared for their lives? What kind of scared people refuse to open cases and are okay with sleeping outside for days?” Ngobese-Zuma questioned.
She also pointed direct scrutiny toward civil society interventions, questioning why the group left local support hubs.
“Why would the Diakonia Centre not keep these 'poor, sad, documented and verified people' there for their safety and let them go and sleep outside, where they are even more exposed?” she wrote.
Ngobese-Zuma's movement has previously rejected allegations of xenophobia, maintaining that its demonstrations, which have disrupted parts of the CBD, are strictly focused on the enforcement of immigration laws and targeting undocumented migrants.
The Department of Home Affairs has been contacted for comment.
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