A Durban high court judge, Peter Olsen, has granted interim relief in a police application against March and March, ordering the organization to suspend demonstrations until November 6. The decision was made amid concerns over escalating violence and intimidation associated with the group's marches. Olsen stressed that he had made no finding of wrongdoing against the organization's founder, Jacinta Ngobese-Zuma. The order also imposes strict limits on marching hours and bans traditional weapons, including knobkerries and sticks.
The ruling was met with defiance from March and March members, who caused chaos in the Durban CBD streets in peak traffic on Friday afternoon. Despite the order, protesters ran through the streets armed with sticks and other weapons, prompting a number of shops to close. Attorney Xolani Zuma, who was cited as a respondent in the interdict application, briefed a gathering outside court, telling members they would be allowed one final walkabout after being briefed on the order until November 6.
Olsen's interim order also banned night marches, wearing masks, engaging in violence, looting, or burning houses. Once marches resume, they will be restricted to between 10am and 3pm. The judge issued a rule nisi, requiring the respondents to answer the state's case, and set January 18 as a holding return date. He emphasized that the merits would be determined after the parties had an opportunity to put their evidence before the court.
The application arose from police allegations of escalating violence and intimidation associated with March and March's marches, as well as an intelligence warning about a plan to burn down the refugee reception centre. The police papers acknowledge that marches were initially largely peaceful and that Ngobese-Zuma had spoken against killing and physical assaults.
Advocate Sandile Kuboni, representing the respondents, argued that the police had generalized about the cited respondents and had not established their criminality. He challenged the inference drawn from leaders being seen addressing people at the encampment opposite the home affairs refugee reception centre on Che Guevara Road.
Olsen questioned whether the distinction between the movement's organizers and unlawful conduct by participants disposed of the responsibility of conveners and marshals. He focused on what organizers should do when they could not control people joining their marches, particularly given the movement's stated commitment to lawful and peaceful activity.
The decision has been hailed as a victory by the police, who had sought to prohibit the organization from marching again. However, Xolani Zuma said efforts to ban the organization from their democratic right had failed, and that the court had only ordered a temporary suspension until November 6. The organization's marches will resume after the elections, with strict limits and bans in place.
Key points
- The Durban high court has ordered March and March to suspend demonstrations until November 6, citing concerns over violence and intimidation.
- The organization's marches will resume after the elections, with strict limits on marching hours and a ban on traditional weapons.
- The decision has been hailed as a victory by the police, who had sought to prohibit the organization from marching again.
