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Durban residents protest against illegal immigration.
Crime intelligence and law enforcement agencies are closely monitoring protests linked to illegal immigration, amid rising tensions over criminality, misinformation and growing concerns about ethnic divisions.
That is what the Minister in the Presidency Khumbudzo Ntshavheni told the post cabinet media briefing.
Government says while South Africans have a right to protest, violence, vigilantism and organised criminal activity will not be tolerated.
Ntshavheni says while communities have legitimate concerns around crime and undocumented migration, frustrations should not spill into lawlessness or vigilantism, insisting that law enforcement agencies must be allowed to act against criminal elements operating in affected areas.
“What’s worse is those that are involved in criminality, those who are involved in selling drugs to our children, in drug peddling in our communities, those who intimidate South Africans, abducting them, kidnapping them, burning their shops, there’s no Sharia law in South Africa, you cannot undermine the laws of this country and want to impose your own law. South Africans will not sit quietly.”
Ntshavheni says authorities are now intensifying monitoring efforts, amid concerns that some protests are increasingly having ethnic undertones that could further divide communities.
“It’s not the state security alone that is monitoring the protests. It’s also the law enforcements that are monitoring the protests so that we can hold everybody to accountable.”
VIDEO | Illegal immigration march in Durban:
Cabinet has meanwhile condemned the spread of fake videos and images linked to alleged attacks on foreign nationals, warning that misinformation is being used to tarnish South Africa’s image internationally.
“Cabinet condemned the viral circulation of fake videos and images claiming to be attacks of foreign nationals in South Africa.”
Government says some of the content circulating online is deliberately misleading, with AI-generated material and footage from other countries falsely being presented as xenophobic violence in South Africa.
“It’s a reputation issue because those who want to diminish the status of South Africa are using AI-generated videos.”
Government says intelligence-led operations will continue as authorities work to contain tensions, combat misinformation and crack down on criminality linked to ongoing protests over illegal immigration.
VIDEO | Post cabinet media briefing:
