March and March leader Jacinta Ngobese-Zuma is accusing police of misleading the public. Ngobese-Zuma says a statement by police purporting that they breached the court order on Tuesday is not true.
Twelve March and March members were injured after police fired rubber bullets on marchers.
Police said in a statement that the protesters were carrying dangerous weapons and defied an earlier court order not to march after 3pm.
A group of people are camping outside the Home Affairs refugee reception centre in Durban’s Che Guevara Road. They say won’t move until government hear their plight.
The group is opposed to undocumented foreign nationals getting documentation. They’re also calling on government to stop asylum and refugee applications.
They say many South Africans are unemployed and poor and should be taken care of first. The reception centre has been closed for months now. Foreign nationals who camped outside were transported to Lindela in Gauteng.
On Tuesday, 12 people were injured after police used stunt grenades and rubber bullets to disperse the crowd. March and March leaders say police should not have used force against their members.
“They were not marching they were walking about 12 people so on top of that then they start shooting at people and issue a statement that was absolutely false that claims that people were violent and that they had sticks and they were trying to contravene the court order. And there is nowhere in those videos that even show that people were marching.” says Ngobese-Zuma.
Police insist that the protesters were marching and were in contravention of a court order.
“We don’t want to go tit for tat with what March and March are saying and we are police officers and we are mandated by law to enforce law. Clearly if there is any disorder police must act…we have a duty to tell the truth and if somebody is disputing our facts, they must bring their facts and they are free to go to the IPID or open the case.” says police spokesperson Colonel Robert Netshiunda.
Police are investigating a possible contravention of the interim court order and assault on police officers. No arrests have been made.
Video: Illegal immigration protest at the Durban Home Affairs refugee reception centre