Officials should not have allowed ‘xenophobic’ march in Tshwane, ISS says

Permission should not have been given for the anti-illegal immigrant protest in Tshwane, which turned violent on Friday morning, the Institute for Security Studies (ISS) said.

"We know from past experience what the risks are and how difficult it is to control these groups once they become incited and excited," ISS senior researcher for crime and justice Johan Burger said.

He said despite police intelligence, the information, that was circulating on social media should have been a clear indication that the march could turn violent.

Groups calling themselves "concerned residents" from townships around Pretoria started marching to the central business district (CBD) to hand over a memorandum to the Department of Home Affairs.

Reports of violence started surfacing before the march got under way.

The march then turned violent with police having to fire rubber bullets, tear gas and stun grenades in the capital city.

Locals in Tshwane and Johannesburg have been blaming the crime in their areas on foreign nationals. On Monday night‚ 20 foreign-owned shops were looted in Atteridgeville‚ Lotus Gardens and Mamelodi East‚ while residents in Rosettenville‚ south of Johannesburg‚ burnt down 12 houses. On Thursday night, several places were burnt and vehicles looted in Atteridgeville.

Last Saturday‚ community members torched two houses in Pretoria West over allegations of drug peddling and sex work. Protesters said their targets were "brothels and drug dens" run by migrants from elsewhere in Africa.

The ISS’s Burger said police should have stopped the protests from reaching the Pretoria CBD.

"If you see these large groups moving out from different areas, such as Mamelodi and Atteridgeville, you should know this is situation begging for trouble, and stop it while you can still control it.

"The best is to stop those groups at the place where they form as you know where they are going to and what their intention is, and you have to stop them before they get there," he said.

Earlier on Friday, President Jacob Zuma appealed to South Africans not to blame foreign nationals for criminal activities.

Tshwane mayor Solly Msimanga said he had met the organisers on Friday morning and was assured that the protest would not be violent.

Following the outbreak of violence, Msimanga’s spokesperson, Samkelo Mgobozi, said the city’s leadership would be doing a threat assessment and look at what steps to take in the future.

The city, in consultation with the Tshwane metro police, would also look at what led to the march spilling over into the CBD and why it was not contained to Mamelodi and Atteridgeville.

Metro police, in collaboration with the South African Police Service, are working on containing the violence and ensuring that law and order is restored, Mgobozi said.

"Anyone caught red handed destroying city property or threatening the life and limb of residents and business owners in the CBD, will be jailed and any investigation can be referred to the Tshwane metro police department, who will deal with unlawful conduct as swiftly as possible," he said.

Save SA has accused some politicians of "lighting the fire that burns", and called on those in political office to do their utmost to calm the situation.

"The disturbing number of attacks on foreign nationals, including those in Atteridgeville today, represent a growing social and political crisis, and real political leadership is needed before the situation escalates even further," Save SA said.

"We cannot afford more mob behaviour, and call on communities to exercise tolerance."

Save SA put some of the blame on Johannesburg mayor Herman Mashaba, who has made controversial comments about foreign nationals living in the city illegally.

Mashaba came under fire in December when he called on all illegal immigrants to leave Johannesburg. On Friday, he expressed concern about the flare-up of violence in parts of Gauteng.

"I call on all peace-loving South Africans to reject groupings that seek to place the blame for crime and unemployment squarely at the feet of foreign residents in our communities," he said.

"I implore our residents not to take the law into their own hands and respect human rights and the rule of law."

He said the city was working to prevent an outbreak of violence.

Gauteng Premier David Makhura called on political leaders to do whatever they could to stop the xenophobic attacks.

“Let us unite in calling for calm, let us urge our people not to resort to vigilantism,” he said.

“We cannot afford to see the killing of foreign nationals. Let us all stand and say not in our name.”

Last year, the Gauteng government established a social cohesion champions, which was working with organisations and communities to build a common understanding and enable a favourable environment for peaceful co-existence.