Durban - FOREIGN-owned businesses in the Durban city centre were closed for a second day after violent clashes between MK Vets and officials.
Similar scenes played out on Monday after scores of MK Vets and members of the People's Revolutionary Movement took to the streets to protests over undocumented foreign nationals operating businesses in the CBD.
On Tuesday, protesters clashed with police as they continued to shut down foreign-owned businesses, demanding that their owners leave the country.
MK Vets have accused foreign nationals of taking jobs from locals and leaving South Africans hungry and in distress.
“Before they came to this country, we were not this hungry; our people were working, our people had income and there was not a huge number of drugs. They have destroyed our country and our youth are deep into drugs because of them,” one of the protesters said.
Foreign nationals are accused of dominating sectors such as mines, businesses, textiles and other sectors. They have also been accused of selling drugs and orchestrating criminal acts.
Members of the Umkhonto we Sizwe Military Veterans Association (MKMVA) clash with the police in Durban after they shut down all the foreign Nationals shop, demanding them to leave the country. pic.twitter.com/OetK4Z9VEE
— Sakhiseni Nxumalo (@SakhiNxumalo) November 3, 2020
Members of the Umkhonto we Sizwe Military Veterans Association (MKMVA) are currently forcefully shutting down all the foreign nationals shops in Durban. They demand them to leave the country immediately. @TheMercurySA pic.twitter.com/qhBMGp3lm6
— Sakhiseni Nxumalo (@SakhiNxumalo) November 3, 2020
The march took a bad turn after police fired rubber bullets and tear gas at protesters, including whoonga addicts, who looted shops.
Earlier in the day there was supposed to be a march by Nigerian nationals who were protesting against the violence wrought by Sars (special anti-robbery squad) police in Nigeria. However, the protest did not go ahead.
The MKs complained that foreign nationals were taking jobs and bringing drugs into the country, among other issues.
A few hours later they decided to do what they called "door to door", demanding that foreign nationals close their businesses.
Mixed in with these MKs were the whoonga addicts, who took advantage of this and started to loot stores. As soon as this happened, some MK Vets tried to stop the looting, but it was too late as police fired rubber bullets at everybody they could and topped it off with some tear gas.
This angered the vets, who wanted to know why the police fired upon them because they were South Africans. | IOL