Police top brass to go on Durban walkabout as marchers return to CBD

March and March protesters took to the Durban streets on Friday hours after unruly violence in the city centre.

Rampaging protesters set 14 cars and buildings on fire, looted shops and clashed with foreign nationals in the Durban CBD late into the night.

The clashes came after the department of home affairs instructed refugee reception offices to receive applications in person from people wanting to apply for asylum.

On Friday the department withdrew the contentious asylum intake directive to refugee reception centres.

Despite this, a group of protesters — many of whom had camped outside the home affairs refugee office in Che Guevara, which was rocked by tensions between asylum seekers and locals on Thursday morning — grew in numbers on Friday.

Dr Pixley kaSeme St, where most of the unrest played out was quiet as police patrolled the area.

However, by mid-morning a group of about 200 protesters gathered at a Lancers Road taxi rank and marched down Dr Yusuf Dadoo St and back into Dr Pixley kaSeme St accompanied by at least two dozen police.

Meanwhile, police top brass including police minister Firoz Cachalia, provincial commission Lt-Gen Nhlanhla Mkhwanazi , who is also the national [roject leader for organised crime, and acting provincial commissioner Maj-Gen Phumelele Makoba were locked in an operational meeting at headquarters with KwaZulu-Natal premier Thami Ntuli and other government officials.

They were expected to go on a walk-about to monitor law enforcement deployment and assess the stability and public order in and around Durban.

This comes amidst continued threats of public violence and disruptions while Durban hosts two major sporting events: