eMbalenhle SAPS mediate tension between squatter camp residents and foreigners
Foreigners are allegedly flocking to Azania informal settlement from areas where the March and March movement has been campaigning against undocumented immigrants.
Three days are not enough time to pack up and leave. This is the cry of illegal immigrants living in the Azania informal settlement.
These immigrants, mostly Mozambican nationals, sought protection from the police last week after Azania community leaders met on July 5 to discuss the influx of undocumented migrants in the area.
Foreigners are allegedly flocking to Azania from areas where the March and March movement has been campaigning against undocumented immigrants.
The Mozambicans claim that the leaders had given undocumented migrants only three days to leave the area and return to Mozambique to regularise their documentation.
eMbalenhle police convened a meeting on July 8 between the two groups in an effort to ease tensions and resolve the dispute over the presence of undocumented migrants in the area.
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Speaking during the police-facilitated meeting, community leader Thabiso Khoza said the engagement with Mozambican residents was prompted by concerns raised by members of the March and March movement, who intended protesting against undocumented immigrants allegedly relocating to Azania from other townships.
“We were trying to make them aware that March and March members had raised concerns that some residents were sheltering relatives and friends who are in the country illegally.
“We urged them to stop doing that and encouraged those without legal documentation to return to their country to get their papers in order so that they can be in South Africa legally.
“Our community is concerned about the increasing number of foreign nationals moving in from other places.
“When we investigated these concerns, we found that some shacks that were previously occupied by one person are now housing as many as nine people, many of whom are Mozambican nationals.
“That is why we arranged a meeting to discuss the matter and seek a solution,” said Khoza.
He added that concerns over undocumented immigrants in Azania predated the March and March campaign.
“As a community, we have previously found ourselves having to bury undocumented foreign nationals who had no identity documents and whose families could not be traced,” he said.
Mozambican national Lucas Matsimela said the group’s decision to seek police intervention was not because they opposed complying with immigration laws, but because they believed the three-day deadline was too short.
“Our concern was the timeframe. Our children attend school here in eMbalenhle, and we need time to make arrangements.
“Three days are not enough because we also have to organise transport back to Mozambique. Undocumented Mozambicans in Azania had each contributed R100 to raise transport money to return home and obtain the necessary documentation.
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“However, we were informed that transport would cost about R300 per person, which we cannot afford. We asked the police to intervene so that we could be given enough time to prepare and return to our country to regularise our documents,” he said.
Addressing those present, eMbalenhle crime prevention head Lieutenant Colonel Madela Khathide reminded residents that members of the public are not authorised to demand passports or immigration documents from foreign nationals.
“No one has the right to ask foreign nationals to produce their passports or other immigration documents except the police and other relevant authorities,” Khathide said.
He explained that foreign nationals residing in South Africa are required to comply with the country’s immigration laws.
“Migrants who are in the country must have valid passports and, where applicable, work permits if they are employed, as well as the necessary business permits and licences if they operate businesses, in order to comply with South African law,” said Khathide.
The meeting concluded with police urging both community members and foreign nationals to resolve concerns peacefully and to allow law enforcement and relevant government departments to deal with immigration-related matters through the appropriate legal processes.
