Staff Reporter
Acting National Police Commissioner Lieutenant General Puleng Dimpane has warned that police will act forcefully against those responsible for violence and destruction during anti-immigration protests that left 24 vehicles burnt in Soweto and Durban.
Speaking in Soweto on Friday evening, Dimpane delivered a stern warning after protests over a Constitutional Court ruling on asylum seekers descended into violence, looting and attacks on foreign-owned businesses.
“Do not mistake restraint for weakness,” she said.
“The SAPS will exercise restraint where the law requires it, but where criminality occurs, we will act.”
Her warning followed Thursday’s unrest in Soweto and Durban, where police said 10 vehicles and 14 vehicles respectively were torched. Three foreign nationals were arrested in KwaZulu-Natal.
The violence erupted amid growing anger over a 7 July Constitutional Court judgment that struck down provisions of the Refugees Act which prevented certain asylum seekers from having their applications considered because they had failed to comply with immigration procedures.
The ruling sparked controversy after the Department of Home Affairs issued a directive on 28 September instructing refugee reception offices to accept applications from people seeking asylum regardless of how they entered the country.
The directive was withdrawn on Friday after Home Affairs acknowledged that refugee reception offices had been overwhelmed and that serious public safety concerns had emerged.
Dimpane said police would not allow legitimate concerns about immigration to be used to justify criminal acts.
“We will not allow communities to be held hostage by violence.”
“And we will not allow criminal elements to use legitimate community concerns as a licence to commit crime.”
She said those responsible for torching vehicles, looting and attacking people would be identified, investigated and prosecuted where there was sufficient evidence.
“Whether you are a South African citizen or a foreign national, if you commit a criminal offence, you will be dealt with in accordance with the law.”
She said provincial police commissioners, led by Head of Organised Crime Lieutenant General Nhlanhla Mkhwanazi, were meeting to coordinate the national response to the flare ups.
Police intelligence operations had also been strengthened, while additional Public Order Police officers were deployed to areas experiencing protests and unrest.
“We are on the ground. We are monitoring developments. We are coordinating our response.”
As reported earlier by Inside Politics, nine cases involving malicious damage to property, public violence and common assault had been opened following the Soweto unrest.
In Durban, the violence followed confrontations between anti-immigration protesters and foreign nationals near the Refugee Reception Centre on Che Guevara Road.
Vehicles and foreign-owned shops were set alight in central Durban on Thursday following reports that a local man had been shot, allegedly by foreign nationals.
KZN police spokesperson Colonel Robert Netshiunda told the SABC that three foreign nationals had been arrested on suspicion of attacking a protester and breaking his neck, which police believed may have triggered the violence.
The latest violence comes after months of demonstrations against undocumented immigration.
Dimpane appealed to community and traditional leaders, religious organisations and civil society to help calm tensions and prevent further violence.
She said the government should be allowed to address the Constitutional Court ruling through lawful processes, while police would continue protecting people, property and critical infrastructure.
“South Africa must not be allowed to descend into violence,” she said.
INSIDE POLITICS
