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Police are seen at the Diakonia Centre in central Durban where hundreds of foreign nationals are there seeking refuge on 21 May 2026.
eThekwini Mayor Cyril Xaba says nearly all the foreign nationals transported from the Diakonia Centre in central Durban have been verified as being in the country legally following a Home Affairs screening process.
Xaba briefed the media at the Durban Refugee Reception Centre on Moore Road after more than 300 foreign nationals were taken there for verification of their immigration status.
One person has been arrested for being in the country illegally.
The group had gathered at Diakonia for the past 2 days, after going to the Durban Central police station on Monday demanding protection from threats.
Xaba says all documented immigrants need protection.
“I think if this message can go out as quickly as possible to the community to say accept them back because they are in the country lawfully. You see it’s our responsibility now as the state to give them protection. I am going to talk to the police, say to them: look, these people are in the country lawfully, so see to it that they get protection. Like protection that we give to any citizen of the country. That is what we need to impress upon as we speak.”
KwaZulu-Natal Police Spokesperson Robert Netshiunda says police patrols will be stepped up in hot spots as foreign nationals say they fear for their safety.
Netshiunda says he is aware of two or three cases of assault that have been opened by foreign nationals, and the police are investigating the cases.
He says most of the complaints of intimidation by leaders of the group of foreign nationals were hearsay that police can’t investigate.
However, Netshiunda says the police will patrol areas where the people are from.
“Police will be patrolling. It’s what we’ve been promising them from the first meeting that if they’re feeling a bit unsafe in their communities, the police will make sure that the areas are patrolled. We didn’t say we will guard them because we protect everybody who’s in the country. And yes, if there are areas that are hotspots, we will make sure that our resources are taken there.”
