Pretoria – The Coalition of Civics Against Xenophobia will defy Tshwane Metro Police and stage a march against attacks on foreign nationals in the city on Thursday without permission.
Under the banner “United struggle against crime, poverty and xenophobia”, the march will be the first in a series of anti-xenophobia events.
But Tshwane Metro Police spokesperson Senior Superintendent Isaac Mahamba said the proper procedure to obtain permission wasn't followed by the organisers.
“There must be a formal agreement between protesters and the recipients of the memorandum. The organisers failed to produce a formal agreement in that regard,“ he said.
He warned of major consequences if the organisers forged ahead with staging an unapproved march. “The organisers will be arrested should any public violence break out,” said Mahamba.
This was not the first time the department declined a proposed march, he said. “If organisers don’t have the the required documents demanded by the security cluster, the march will be turned down.”
Themba Ncalo, for the organisers, said they were too far ahead with the preparations to stop the march now, and thus had decided to go ahead without permission.
The organisers had already garnered major support from numerous neighbouring countries and embassies in the city, he said.
“Residents from the city, including Mamelodi and Atteridgeville, are also expected to attend.” Ironically, these were the two groups that participated in a march against illegal foreign nationals which turned violent a fortnight ago.
“We must take a firm stand to denounce the violence and embrace unity,” said Ncalo.
He said the xenophobia was part of the “lingering destructive colonial legacy”.
Organisations and civil rights groups, including the African Diaspora Forum, have come together to slam the violence on foreign nationals from Africa.
During the violence that broke out, there was mass looting of foreign-owned shops in the city.
The march will start at Burgers Park from 9am and move through the parts of the CBD, ending up at the Union Buildings, where a memorandum will be handed over to government.
Last month, the city experienced sporadic xenophobic attacks in areas such as Atteridgeville, Pretoria West and Mamelodi. The action had been fuelled by employment of foreigners ahead of locals, hijacking of buildings and alleged drug dealing orchestrated by by foreigners.