Durban – KwaZulu-Natal police commissioner Lieutenant-General Nhlanhla Mkhwanazi and Acting Police Minister Firoz Cachalia have secured an interim court interdict against the March and March Movement following violent anti-immigration protests in Durban, amid fears of further unrest and an alleged plot to burn down a refugee reception centre.
According to IOL, the order was granted on Wednesday, 28 October, and remains in force until Friday, when the Durban High Court is expected to consider whether to make it final.
The legal action follows weeks of unrest in the city, including reports of vehicles being torched, businesses damaged and a foreign national killed during the violence.
BREAKING NEWS: ACTING POLICE MINISTER TAKES JACINTA NGOBESE-ZUMA TO COURT OVER DURBAN PROTESTS
Acting Police Minister Firoz Cachalia has approached the High Court seeking an urgent interdict to restrict protests organised by the March and March Movement in parts of Durban.
The application, brought against movement leader Jacinta Ngobese-Zuma and other parties, seeks to limit marches, pickets, processions and motorcades in specified areas of eThekwini, including the Durban CBD, Berea and the area around the Home Affairs Refugee Reception Centre on Che Guevara Road.
The Minister is also seeking restrictions aimed at preventing violence, intimidation, looting, assault and damage to property.
Ngobese-Zuma has criticised the legal action, arguing that it threatens the movement’s constitutional right to protest. She has called on supporters to attend the court hearing scheduled for Friday, 30 October 2026, at 10:00.
The dispute follows repeated demonstrations by March and March outside the Durban refugee reception centre over immigration enforcement and concerns about foreign nationals working in the delivery sector.
The High Court has yet to rule on the application. The requested restrictions are not yet a court order or a nationwide ban on protests.
#FirozCachalia #JacintaNgobeseZuma #MarchAndMarch #Durban #RightToProtest #HomeAffairs #BreakingNews #AfricanVibeMedia
— African Vibe Media (@AVMedia_za) October 28, 2026
Police raised concerns about intelligence suggesting a plan to set fire to the Department of Home Affairs Refugee Reception Centre on Che Guevara Road in Berea. Brigadier Thamsanqa Gama warned in court papers of an “immediate threat to life, to personal safety, and public order” in Durban and the wider province.
Growing tension
The authorities are seeking restrictions on marches and protest convoys in specified areas of eThekwini, as well as measures to prevent assaults, intimidation, looting, arson, property damage and the forced closure of businesses.
The developments were also reported by eNCA, which confirmed that the interim interdict followed police warnings about potential violence and threats to public infrastructure.
March and March leader Jacinta Ngobese-Zuma has condemned the court action, accusing the government of undermining the movement’s constitutional right to protest.
Acting Police Minister Firoz Cachalia has secured an interim court order restricting March and March protest activities in eThekwini. https://t.co/dGBG24KvgJ
— Channel Islam Int (@channelislam) October 28, 2026
“Support us against the minister of police and the president that are abusing power and using the courts to strip us of our democratic right to protest in a democratic country,” she said, according to TimesLIVE.
The movement’s national spokesperson, Sandile Dube, also criticised the application, describing it as an attempt to silence public grievances ahead of the local government elections.
The case indicates the growing tension between demands for stricter immigration enforcement and the government’s responsibility to protect lives, property and public order. While Section 17 of the Constitution protects peaceful assembly and protest, it does not authorise violence or intimidation.
The Durban High Court is expected to hear arguments on Friday, 30 October, to determine whether the interim restrictions should be confirmed.
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Compiled by Betha Madhomu
