ANC has condemned vigilante-style citizenship checks and isolated incidents of intimidation during protests, calling on law enforcement to intervene and prevent further escalation of tensions in affected communities.
The ANC in KwaZulu-Natal has warned that violence, intimidation and unlawful conduct during protests against undocumented foreign nationals risk destabilising communities, cautioning that the province must not “descend into that pit of instability again,” in reference to the July 2021 unrest.
ANC Provincial Spokesperson Sifiso Sonjica, the party said it is aware of “a handful of instances of violence and threats of violence that have marked some of these protests.”
It also raised concern over what it described as unlawful citizen patrols, saying it is aware of “vigilante-style, random spot checks on individuals’ citizenship status conducted by unauthorised and unqualified individuals and of the trampling of others’ rights.”
The ANC said it is firmly opposed to such conduct and has called on law enforcement agencies to act.
