eThekwini verifies 300 foreign nationals following Diakonia Centre standoff

At least 300 foreign nationals have been verified by immigration officials in Durban,  following a standoff outside the Diakonia Centre, with only one found to be in the country illegally.

The intervention comes after a number of foreign nationals spent several days outside the centre seeking security and temporary refuge amid rising anti-immigrant sentiment in parts of the city.

Scores of people gathered at the centre, saying they feared for their safety due to what they described as hostility from some members of the public.

The Diakonia Centre is known as a hub for social justice organisations working in peace, development and human rights.

Earlier on Thursday, eThekwini Mayor, Cyril Xaba, said the municipality had arranged buses to transport foreign nationals to a processing centre after days of camping outside the facility.

He said the Premier, Police, and Department of Home Affairs, together with local community leaders and representatives of foreign nationals, had met to find a way forward.

Xaba added that court arrangements, including the availability of a magistrate, are being put in place to assist with processing.

“In processing there are those that may not be in the country legally, they may not have the documentation, so it means that they will then require to be taken through the court process so we have already spoken to the head of court to ensure that she designates a court as well as a magistrate to be ready to process them,” said Xaba.

Xaba says those found to be in the country illegally will be arrested as part of standard procedure.

He said some of those arrested are likely to be remanded in custody before deportation to their countries of origin.

“Those who fail the qualification to be in the country and don’t have the necessary documents the police will then arrest them because that is the standard procedure. They must be arrested and then taken through the court process and then obviously what will then follow is the deportation.”

Xaba however, urged communities in Durban and surrounding areas to support foreign nationals who are in South Africa lawfully.

Meanwhile, anti-illegal immigration group March and March leader, Jacinta Ngobese-Zuma, has called on the Department of Home Affairs to continue verifying documentation of foreign nationals.

She says those found to be in the country unlawfully should be deported.

“We all know that when you are a refugee in any country you are given a certain period to be there until time is up since there is no war going on in their countries. So what is Home Affairs going to verify because even us as South Africans we are waiting for answers from Home affair over what it is that they are going to do with these foreign nationals that they brought into our country because there is no war where they are from right now,” she said.

Ngobese-Zuma also claimed that many South Africans feel displaced in their own country, alleging that some areas are saturated with immigrants with some linked to criminal activity.

Written by: Odirile Rabalao