Acting national police commissioner Lt-Gen Puleng Dimpane has pledged that the police will track down and apprehend those responsible for torching vehicles and other acts of violence during recent protests in Soweto and Durban. The protests, which began as a response to a July Constitutional Court judgment affecting access to South Africa's asylum system, escalated into clashes involving residents and foreign nationals.
The violence resulted in significant property damage, with 10 vehicles burned in Soweto and 14 in Durban. Dimpane, speaking in Soweto on Thursday evening, emphasized that those behind the torching of vehicles would be pursued and captured. She assured that the police would identify, investigate, and arrest those responsible where sufficient evidence was available, and that there would be consequences for the criminality taking place.
The protests are linked to growing concerns over the July Constitutional Court judgment, which has led to long queues at refugee reception offices, including in Durban. Local protesters have demanded that the department of home affairs stop processing asylum applications. In Soweto, the protests escalated into clashes involving residents and foreign nationals, with vehicles being set alight and tensions spreading to foreign-owned shops.
Dimpane stressed that legitimate concerns about asylum seekers and the court ruling could not be addressed through violence. She appealed to communities to remain calm and allow the government to deal with the court ruling through constitutional and legal processes. The right to raise concerns and to protest, she said, does not give anyone the right to commit crime.
In response to the violence, Dimpane said police had reinforced public order policing deployments in areas affected by protests, gatherings, or signs of possible unrest. All provincial commissioners had met to assess the situation, while the crime intelligence division had been instructed to work around the clock to identify those responsible for the violence.
Three foreign nationals have been arrested in KwaZulu-Natal in connection with the violence, while police were still pursuing those responsible for the torching of vehicles in Gauteng. Dimpane emphasized that police would enforce the law regardless of whether those involved were South African citizens or foreign nationals. She also warned communities against taking the law into their own hands.
Dimpane concluded by stressing that South Africa must not be allowed to descend into violence. The police would continue monitoring the situation and adapt their deployments as the protests developed. She urged communities not to burn vehicles, property, or destroy others' property, and not to attack or intimidate others.
Key points
- Police have reinforced public order policing deployments in areas affected by protests.
- Three foreign nationals have been arrested in KwaZulu-Natal in connection with the violence.
- The protests are linked to growing concerns over a July Constitutional Court judgment affecting access to South Africa's asylum system.
