Residents from the Gomora Informal Settlement and Ward 55 as a whole recently staged a march to the Hercules Police Station, demanding police intervention regarding an influx of undocumented foreign nationals in the area.

Gathering on municipal land in Gomora, hundreds of disgruntled residents made the long walk to the police station in support of the March and March protests that have swept the nation in recent weeks.

Organisations such as the South African National Civic Organisation (SANCO), the MK Party and other civic organisations were among the residents calling for intervention in the area.

In the memorandum of demands, residents call for increased visibility in the area, door-to-door checks for undocumented foreign nationals and support from other departments such as Home Affairs (DHA) to process and remove undocumented migrants.

They also demanded a community meeting in future to discuss the progress, among other demands.

Speaking to marchers in the crowd, the common consensus was that if you’re a foreign national in the area, you must be legal.

“We can’t chase these people away without the help of the police because we live with them,” said resident Lesiba Seanego.

Seanego is originally from Polokwane, but has been staying in Gomora for years. He said the residents want to reach out to police before tensions boil over.

“I can’t say I have a problem with foreigners, no. I know some; they are legal, they have their passports, they’re renting legally, that’s fine, but some are arrogant. Some think they can come here and take over, and the whole land is for them, but you have to follow the law, you have to obey. So, we hope the police can help us because we don’t want violence,” Seanego said.

SANCO leader Eric Mohlamme said the community also demands inspections of tuck and spaza shops for by-law compliance, health regulations, and all required business permits needed to operate.

Mohlamme also urged the community to be part of the solution by not sheltering or not reporting undocumented foreign nationals, as well as not reporting crime in general in the area.

“As Ward 55, once you allow a foreigner into our community, you must remember these are the communities we fought for. When we were still squatter camps or ‘lokasies’ as they called us, the police came and shot us with rubber bullets because we were fighting for that space. We [are] fighting for these squatter camps so we can accommodate our community members, not illegal foreigners,” he said.

He added that the community wants to see the DHA and other departments involved with the same vigour and intensity that they would experience if they conducted these searches themselves as residents.

“We want to see them because at the end of the day, if the community takes the law into its own hands and we go door-to-door, doing illegal searches, SAPS will be against us,” he said.

Mohlamme also called on community members not to attack ambulances when they respond to the area, saying that the fact that emergency services need to be escorted by the police is a shame.

Another community leader, Mandla Ngwenya, said locals are starved for job opportunities while undocumented foreign nationals are gainfully employed.

He wants the police to assist the community in removing illegals, as they don’t want violence.

“They need to make sure that they remove those people from this place; they can go back home and fix themselves, and then come back. We are not here to fight; we are here to fix the problem,” Ngwenya said.

“We are all Africans, but they must come to the country documented. We can’t keep undocumented people in the country.”

Ngwenya said, following the march, he hopes the police will implement what the residents were calling for and that only legal foreign nationals remain in the area.

Ward councillor Leon Kruyshaar said he was pleased with the peaceful nature of the protest and hopes residents continue to keep it that way.

“Obviously, undocumented people are not welcome in South Africa. Minister Leon Schriber has sent more people back in the last two years that he’s been in office than in the last 30 years, especially undocumented foreigners.

“I welcome anyone who is documented, but if you aren’t, please, report to your councils and embassies and go back where you came from,” Kruyshaar said.

“We cannot support some of the things we’ve seen on national TV with people looting and burning places. We haven’t seen that today. I will stand with them all the way as long as it’s in the confines of the law,” he said.

Kruyshaar added that the police and the DHA need to do more day-to-day policing in the area to help quell residents’ grievances.

“We’ve had several murders in the area, two just in the last three weeks, and there are no leads. It’s very hard to trace down suspects when they’re undocumented; we can’t fingerprint them because they are not in the database,” he said.

“How do you arrest someone you have no record of? Police need to start stopping and checking. I’m not saying bring back the old days of dompasses, but we need to start somewhere,” Kruyshaar said.

Lieutenant Sathi Moodley of the Hercules Police Station accepted the memorandum on behalf of the station but declined to comment further, saying that management will review it and communicate with leadership in due course.

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