More than 900 people were arrested during Tuesday’s nationwide anti-migrant protests, police said on Wednesday.
Of the 120 marches, 108 were peaceful, while 12 required police intervention, deputy national police commissioner Tebello Mosikili told a press conference. He said the arrests were for offences ranging from immigration violations and public violence to harbouring undocumented migrants and robbery.
Police said in a separate statement that one person was shot dead late on Tuesday in Joburg’s Alexandra township, where residents were looting spaza shops owned by foreign nationals. Related News Google launches faster AI image, video tools to give users’ more creative powers Fake AI tools become new cyber threat as malware attacks on SMEs rise fivefold - Kaspersky UK researchers develop solar device to bring electricity to off-grid Nigerian communities
Police reinforcements were deployed across five of the country’s nine provinces overnight, while soldiers were sent to Joburg’s inner-city Hillbrow neighbourhood, where two people were injured in a shooting.
Durban police opened an inquest into the death of a foreign national who allegedly jumped from the eighth floor of a building on the eve of the protests, believing he was being targeted.
