WATCH | We’ll be back, says March and March after clash with refugees

There was pandemonium as police had to use stun grenades, teargas and rubber bullets to stop clashes between the anti-migration movement March and March and documented refugees on Che Guevara Road at Umbilo in Durban on Thursday.

Tensions simmered for several hours as the anti-migrant movement gathered momentum to “clean up” about 400 documented refugees and asylum seekers, who fled their homes after violence, evictions and intimidation in the run-up to anti-migrant protests, and have lived on the busy road outside the department of home affairs refugee office for about 15 weeks.

The displaced documented families, mainly from the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), Burundi and Rwanda, live in the temporary, makeshift camp under difficult conditions with a few mobile toilets.

About 100 March and March members marched, along with a police escort comprising 20 officers, from King Dinuzulu Park to the encampment, where they were met with a police cordon and members of the Siyafana Sonke Action Campaign, a collective of 160 organisations against xenophobia and Afrophobia.

A heated exchange turned into a violent confrontation when rocks started flying. A March and March leader claimed he was struck by a foreigner, while a policeman was also struck in the commotion. Police used stun grenades and tear gas to control the crowd.

Later tensions arose for a second time, and police used rubber bullets against the protesters.

March and March founder Jacinta Ngobese-Zuma speaks about the foreigners living on Che Guevara Road and the events leading to violent confrontation 📹@sandysndlovu pic.twitter.com/6cxwCrx49Y— Yasantha Naidoo (@NaidooYasantha) September 3, 2026

March and March founder Jacinta Ngobese-Zuma arrived after the commotion among protesters, furious at police action.

She alleged on social media after a run-in with police at Che Guevara Road: “So the foreigners at Moore Rd have guns. [The] eThekwini Municipality and you have left them to stay there for months … the community is being abused, robbed and insulted by these people and you continue to normalise lawlessness?? Today one of them discharged a firearm but at South African Police Service refused to dismantle those tents on the road and search for the weapon, they claimed they need a warrant?? I’m so shocked to see how a government can allow people t just take over and start living on the streets while NGOs do as they please??? Why then must we abide by the law if you are allowing lawlessness to carry on because it’s foreigners??”

At the protest she claimed without furnishing proof that the refugees were responsible for robbing people who lived and worked in the area, created a health hazard by living on the street and affected business in the area.

Last month, the Umbilo Business Association said the continued presence of the refugees had a social and economic impact on businesses.

They proposed that the eThekwini municipality move the refugees to the old Durban drive-in.

“They have been driven from their homes and workplaces. They have suffered a whole winter on the streets, with an almost complete lack of proper clothing, food or shelter, amid continued daily harassment by March and March supporters. Two refugees have died on the site, with the most recent death due to a medical condition almost certainly worsened by continued exposure to harsh weather and barely sufficient nutrition.

“The minimal engagement by the state immigration and security apparatus has been limited to a totally unnecessary and demeaning re-verification process and unrealistic instructions for the refugees to go back to the same communities who chased them away. There have been no offers of state support to guarantee the security and safety of those refugees who might still possess homes. Other refugees have been illegally evicted, and entire families have lost their belongings.”

It said the two options offered by the state ― reintegrate or go to Lindela in Gauteng ― smacked of “cross-party political expediency in an election year”.

“It is damning that early promises of alternative emergency shelter have now evaporated without explanation or accountability. Siyafana Sonke has provided the state with locations which were previously used to shelter previous victims of xenophobic violence, but there has been a deafening silence on the part of the inter-ministerial committee on migration.

“A somewhat cynical view would be that the state failed to curb the initial onset of xenophobic rhetoric and violence and allowed the migrant community to become convenient scapegoats for the state’s own corruption-driven failings, especially in the areas of housing, employment and service delivery in communities.”

They called on the state to provide protection and prevent any further violence.

“The language of ‘cleaning up’ is absolutely dehumanising and reminiscent of the genocidal language of the Nazi genocide of Jews, the Rwandan genocide, and the Israeli genocide against the Palestinians. It is disturbing and unconstitutional to use such language, especially against a vulnerable minority group already suffering systemic discrimination and harm. This must be addressed immediately, retracted and an apology issued.”

It also called for the arrest and prosecution of the ringleaders of anti-migrant organisations, including Ngobese-Zuma, Nkosikhona “Phakel’umthakathi” Ndabandaba and Ngizwe Mchunu.

“On Thursday afternoon, about 100 marchers went on what they termed a clean-up campaign in which they allegedly picked up essentials belonging to the foreign nationals, and a physical confrontation erupted. Police had sufficient deployment and intervened to restore order. During the commotion, stones were thrown around, and one which was thrown by a foreign national hit a police officer.

“Police had to use minimal crowd management and proportional force to manage the situation, and calm has been restored. Investigations are ongoing, and anyone found to have incited violence will face the might of the law.”

He said the arrested suspect will appear in court after all processes have been completed.

“We are happy with the government’s offer of taking us to the temporary shelter in Lindela. We will be able to live there, and our children will be able to start school from next year.

“Some of the other foreigners here have rejected the government’s offer. We are not with them,” he said.

“We are all documented refugees, and it is a crime against international law to deport documented refugees. For months the UN told us we should not accept being forced to Lindela and that the state should ensure our safety in South Africa.

“They are now telling us that there are no other options. In these desperate circumstances 105 of us have accepted that they have no other option than to go to Lindela. The rest of us will remain, as we cannot go back to our countries of origin from which we fled as refugees, nor can we go back to the communities from which we were expelled by fascist mobs. We are remaining with a clear demand that the state must keep its promise to ensure that we have safe places to live.”