March and March Members Granted Bail After Durban Protest Arrest, Forum4SA CEO Speaks Out
- Magolide Shinga and Malizo Dzanibe were arrested after a Durban protest against a Home Affairs directive turned violent
- Forum4SA CEO Xolani Zuma spoke outside the Durban Magistrates Court, accusing the state of using apartheid-era tactics against its own citizens
- Zuma alleged that Nigerians were chasing South African women from flats while police arrested South Africans instead
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DURBAN — Two members of the March and March movement, Magolide Shinga and Malizo Dzanibe, were granted bail after appearing at the Durban Magistrates Court on 12 October, following their arrest during a protest that turned violent.
The demonstration was directed at a Department of Home Affairs directive permitting the resumption of asylum application processing in Durban. The protest descended into unrest, leading to the arrest of the two members. The directive was subsequently withdrawn.
Forum4SA CEO condemns state response
Speaking outside the Durban Magistrates Court, Xolani Zuma, Chief Executive Officer of Forum4SA and husband of March and March leader Jacinta Ngobese-Zuma, rejected any characterisation of the protest as an act of public violence. He argued that the true cause of the unrest lay with a government unwilling to address the legitimate grievances of its citizens.
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"This has got nothing to do with public violence. It has everything to do with the state that does not want to listen to its citizens," Zuma said.
"So when it doesn't want to listen to the citizens, it uses apartheid tactics to scare people. And unfortunately that cannot happen; it can't work in modern-day society."
Zuma also alleged that Nigerian nationals had been assaulting South African women and forcing them out of residential flats in the area. He further accused the South African Police Service of failing to act against the perpetrators and instead arresting South Africans. He claimed the movement had evidence to support these allegations.
Bail granted as tensions remain high
Shinga and Dzanibe were released on bail after their court appearance. The backdrop to the case includes ongoing public debate over immigration enforcement, the role of Home Affairs, and how law enforcement responds to community protests tied to those tensions.
Watch Xolani Zuma speak outside the Durban Magistrates Court:
General Mkhwanazi addresses Durban violence
In a related article, Briefly News reported on KwaZulu-Natal Provincial Commissioner Nhlanhla Mkhwanazi’s comments on the Durban violence that followed the Home Affairs directive on asylum applications.
At least 10 vehicles were set alight as tensions between South Africans and foreign nationals escalated. Mkhwanazi said the unrest reflected existing community tensions, while police were tasked with coordinating a national response.
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Source: Briefly News
