Thousands of Zimbabwe nationals were at the Epping Home Affairs office in a rush to get repatriated out of the country.
Foreign nationals who voluntarily agreed to be repatriated from Cape Town to the Beitbridge border have expressed dismay after learning they would be declared undesirable and barred from re-entering South Africa for up to five years.
Since Sunday, the Department of Home Affairs office in Epping has served as the processing centre for hundreds of Zimbabwean nationals who fled from various parts of the Western Cape amid fears of violence ahead of Tuesday's planned nationwide anti-immigration protests.
The voluntary departures come despite repeated assurances from President Cyril Ramaphosa and Acting Police Minister Firoz Cachalia that while peaceful protest is protected under the Constitution, intimidation, vigilantism and attacks on foreign nationals would not be tolerated.
The City has activated area-based Joint Operations Centres. Operations Tuesday will be coordinated by the Disaster Coordinating Team (DCT) in Goodwood.
