Pretoria Immigrants Deny Stealing South Africans’ Jobs After Anti-immigrant Group Ransack Stalls in Marabastad

• Foreign informal traders in Marabastad have rubbished the notion that they are stealing jobs from South Africans
• This comes as a group describing themselves as concerned residents have been targeting the traders in an anti-immigrant protest
• The protestors terrorised the informal traders and ransacked their stalls, destroying goods on Monday, 19 June

PRETORIA - Immigrants working as informal traders in Marabastad have set out to set the record straight after being targeted by an anti-foreigner group.

The immigrants insist they are not taking jobs from South Africans but working hard to make a living in the business area.

On Monday, 19 June, a group of Tshwane residents embarked on an anti-immigrant protest that they vowed would be carried out throughout the week, SABC News reported.

They claimed that the informal traders in Marabastad were undocumented foreigners who did not pay taxes and demanded they close their stalls.

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Informal trader described how angry protestors ransacked stalls in Marabastad

Monday's protest descended into violence and intimidation as the protestors took to ransacking the stall belonging to informal traders they deemed to be foreigners.

One trader recounted the terrifying ordeal to TimesLIVE. A Documented immigrant Eugenia Tendai Pasipanodya told the publication how the group went from stall to stall, destroying, throwing away, and even stealing goods.

Pasipanodya said the angry crowd demanded that the hawkers return home because they were taking jobs from locals.

Pasipanodya said:

"I am not stealing from anyone, I am not killing anyone. I am just seated at my table, I did not take anyone's occupation.”

Legal expert weighs in on anti-immigrant protest in Marabastad

Speaking to Briefly News, Dr Callixte Kavuro, a legal expert from the University of Stellenbosch, detailed the rights of documented foreigners in South Africa.

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Kavuro said:

"It is important to point out that mob justice is not allowed in South Africa in that the mass roundup type approach to arrest and detain undocumented migrants is unlawful, and to allow it to continue is unreasonable.

It is actually a dereliction of duty on the side of the SAPS to allow protestors to harass and intimidate the people that they are mandated to protect."

Kuvuro said that while several legislation and regulations protect the interests of immigrants, refugees and asylum seekers, they lack implementation and enforcement. Effective protection is not an issue of adopting new laws but rather implementing the existing ones.

Kuvuro added:

"There is also a need for cooperation between communities and security services on the one hand and between DHA and public sectors to ensure the law takes its course and to avoid violence. Communities should be educated about the rights of non-citizens and their obligations to protect national interest."

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South Africans slam the protesters for targeting foreign informal traders

Below are some comments:

@Panashe_JJ asked:

"How do you feel as a black person doing that to another African whose crime is only trying to put food on the table for the kids?"

@mgiba_jeff slammed:

"This is very wrong, bro...that is not a clean-up but barbaric behaviour."

@VusBiyel criticised:

"This can't be celebrated in any form whatsoever. This is an absolute disgrace."

@mabosigomolamu added:

"It's wrong what they are doing."

@MalomeErnest exclaimed:

"This is not right! Don't harass people like this!"

35 civil organisations marched to Union Buildings in protest of influx of illegal immigrants in South Africa

Earlier, Briefly News reported that over 35 civil organisations planned a march to the Union Buildings in Pretoria to protest illegal immigration in South Africa.

The organisations descended on the iconic buildings on Thursday, 1 June and accused the government of losing control over undocumented foreign nationals coming into the country.

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Protesting under the banner of #SAMassMarch, the organisations want the government to take a bolder stance on tackling illegal immigration.

Source: Briefly News