The National Joint Operational and Intelligence Structure (NATJOINTS) has confirmed the arrest of three individuals who attempted to gain unauthorised access to the venue of the 46th Ordinary SADC Summit currently taking place in Durban.

SAPS spokesperson Brigadier Athlenda Mathe said, “Two Congolese nationals were arrested on Saturday after attempting to gain entry to the summit venue using accreditation that had not been issued to them and belonged to another person.

“The suspects were detected at an access-control point when their identities did not correspond with the accreditation presented and were immediately arrested.

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“The two Congolese nationals face charges of fraud, impersonation and contravention of the Safety at Sports and Recreational Events Act 2 of 2010.”

On the third arrest, Mathe said, “Earlier this week, a Zimbabwean national was also arrested after allegedly attempting to obtain accreditation under the guise of being a performing artist in an effort to gain access to the summit venue.

“The Zimbabwean national faces a charge relating to being illegally in the Republic of South Africa.”

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Meanwhile, NATJOINTS said it is fully aware of plans for marches and other public gatherings in and around Durban during the summit period.

“NATJOINTS respects the constitutional right to protest peacefully and lawfully. However, there will be no tolerance for criminality, violence, intimidation, threats, destruction of property, attempts to breach restricted areas or any deliberate effort to disrupt the proceedings of the summit,” it said.

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