Mediamec Police are investigating the killing of a Ugandan national and attacks on other foreign nationals as anti-immigration protests in Durban brought looting, damage to businesses and widespread shop closures.
Five men aged between 19 and 46 were taken in as persons of interest on Friday during protests outside the Home Affairs offices on Che Guevara Road in Umbilo.
KwaZulu-Natal police spokesperson Colonel Robert Netshiunda said investigators believed the men could assist with cases involving murder, attempted murder and assault.
The investigations concern an attack on a foreign national on Wednesday, Thursday morning’s fatal assault, and an incident in which two foreign nationals were allegedly attacked by marchers in Berea, also on Thursday.
The Ugandan victim was assaulted and stabbed on Thursday. Netshiunda said a group had been marching along Dr Pixley kaSeme Street towards Maud Mfusi Street when two men allegedly broke away and approached a man beside the road. A group then reportedly assaulted him.
Protesters also targeted the VFS Global Home Affairs Visa Application Centre on Linden Road in Berea on Thursday. Netshiunda said Berea police were investigating allegations that marchers had broken into and ransacked a building near Problem Mkhize Road. Officers were working to identify those responsible.
About 80% of shops in the CBD were closed amid the unrest. Some businesses continued trading with shutters partly lowered while staff watched for approaching protesters.
In a separate case, three Ethiopian men facing attempted murder and public violence charges appeared in the Durban Magistrate’s Court on Friday.
One of the accused, Wodaje Girma, 29, described the tense conditions in the city during his bail application. He told the court he had been attacked on Dr Pixley kaSeme Street during protests on October 8.
Prosecutor Zakhele Nzuza alleged that the three accused assaulted a man who had been looking for a shop to repair his phone. The man was allegedly beaten unconscious while police were nearby monitoring demonstrations.
Nzuza said Home Affairs had found no record of Girma on its system. That information would need to be verified at the next court appearance before a bail decision could be made.
A subsequent protest on Dr Pixley kaSeme Street saw 14 vehicles set alight and 12 shops damaged.
The violence follows months of confrontation around Durban’s Refugee Reception Centre. The March and March Movement had demanded that foreign nationals, particularly those from neighbouring African countries, leave South Africa by September 30.
More than 400 documented refugees had been living on the pavement outside the centre from May 22 while seeking assistance with documentation and immigration matters. Refugees also sought safety at Sherwood Park in Sydenham in June.
Those camped outside the centre were transported to the Lindela Repatriation Centre in Gauteng in September. March and March and other anti-immigration groups subsequently used the reception centre as a base and blocked access.
Nineteen people accused of involvement in public violence appeared in the Durban Magistrate’s Court after October 10 and were granted bail of R1,500 each.
March and March members Wandile “Method” Nsibande, Sphelele “Magolide” Shinga and Malizo Dzanibe also face charges of inciting public violence, public violence and acting in a riotous or physically threatening manner.
Nsibande was on parole when the alleged offences occurred. He received a 25-year prison sentence in 2009 for robbery with aggravating circumstances and kidnapping, and was released on parole on April 15, 2022. He remains under correctional supervision until 2034.
