Cape Town – KwaZulu-Natal Police Commissioner Nhlanhla Mkhwanazi has strongly criticised the tactics of anti-illegal immigration groups such as March and March following recent unrest in Durban.
March and March has been carrying out what it calls a “clean-up campaign” targeting alleged undocumented foreign nationals, an effort that has led to clashes between South Africans and foreign nationals this week.
Speaking to Newsroom Africa on Wednesday (22 April), Mkhwanazi stressed that members of the public do not have the authority or expertise to verify people’s immigration status.
“They don’t have a responsibility to check if people are documented, nor do they have the skills to know whether the papers a person is holding are legitimate or not,” he said.
He urged communities to rather report concerns to law enforcement authorities, who are equipped to investigate and act where necessary.
“They should be able to tell us that in a particular area there may be undocumented people and ask us to check. If it is confirmed, then we will be able to deport them,” he explained.
[WATCH] “They cannot just go and threaten foreigners without knowing whether they are documented or not.” KwaZulu-Natal Police Commissioner Nhlanhla Mkhwanazi says they will meet with March and March movement leaders. He says civilians have no responsibility to check whether… pic.twitter.com/oB21787nwg
— Newzroom Afrika (@Newzroom405) April 22, 2026
Mkhwanazi warned that unverified accusations and intimidation could have dangerous consequences.
“If people act without verifying information and intimidate others, the sad reality is that someone could get hurt,” he said.
He further highlighted the risk of profiling, noting that many South Africans may be wrongly targeted based on their appearance.
“You’re going to come across someone who looks like me and assume that he is a foreigner, not knowing that he is South African. We have brothers and sisters in this country who look similar to people from other African countries. You cannot judge someone’s nationality by their appearance,” he added.
Mkhwanazi also raised concern that such actions appear to disproportionately target African foreign nationals.
“What becomes even more disturbing is that their march seems to target those that are mostly from African origin. They are not necessarily directing their anger towards other foreign nationals who are in the country. We’ve got the whole world here, but we don’t see on TV that there is this kind of march towards other nationals,” he said.
Meanwhile, IOL reported that on Monday, former radio broadcaster Ngizwe Mchunu and Phakelumthakathi Ndabandaba led hundreds of people, some carrying sticks and weapons, through the streets of Durban as part of the March and March campaign.
Durban clean-up or show of force?
Former radio broadcaster Ngizwe Mchunu and Phakelumthakathi Ndabandaba have again led hundreds of people carrying sticks and weapons through the streets of Durban, where they claim to be cleaning up in the name of the anti-foreigner group March… pic.twitter.com/MM0rDZyOyC— IOL News (@IOL) April 21, 2026
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Compiled by Glaan Sibuyi
