Immigrant shop owners in Matatiele in the Eastern Cape closed their doors on Thursday when about 60 residents marched through the town, demanding shops owned by undocumented immigrants be closed.
Marchers, led by the Cleaning Eastern Cape Together Movement, gathered outside the old Home Affairs offices before proceeding to its new offices to hand over a memorandum.
The march copies similar anti-immigrant “clean-up” actions by March and March, which turned violent in Durban and Johannesburg.
At the march, resident Lebohang Lewatle said, “I am against immigrants who are here illegally. Those who are running their businesses legally can stay because Matatiele is one of the towns that rely on these shops for jobs. We do not have factories or warehouses that can create employment.”
March leader Senzo Khalakhu said their intention was not to target people with legal documents.
“We will continue marching to Home Affairs until there is a clean-up operation to check those without documents. We did not want any violence. Tomorrow, I will visit the shops to reassure owners that they should not close if they have legal papers when we march again. We are not xenophobic, we want to assist Home Affairs,” said Khalakhu.
But many shop owners we spoke to said they are now living in fear.
Kashif Naveed, from Pakistan, said he has valid documentation to live and work in South Africa and has been running his hardware store in Matatiele for more than ten years. He employs about a dozen people.
“The sad part is that the main target is always foreigners from Pakistan, Ethiopia and Nigeria. It is shocking that the focus is on us.”
Home Affairs representative Phumla Ndada accepted the protesters’ memorandum.
“We will work with the police and the leadership to address the issues raised and ensure that those who are in the country illegally are dealt with,” said Ndada.
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