Businesses close under pressure from violent group in Durban
By the AFREEQUE newsroom, based on IOL
About 20 protesters armed with sticks and wearing masks forced businesses to close in central Durban, amid violence targeting foreign nationals. Law enforcement and security companies were deployed on several streets, according to Denzil Govender of Ground Zero Search and Rescue, cited by IOL.
A group of about 20 protesters armed with sticks and wearing masks forced businesses to close on Monday afternoon in central Durban, South Africa, amid violence targeting foreign nationals. Law enforcement officers and security companies were deployed in the central district, according to IOL.
Denzil Govender, head of Ground Zero Search and Rescue, said the group chased pedestrians, struck shopfronts and asked shopkeepers to produce their identity documents. A witness also said that shopkeepers and their employees had been beaten with sticks and that money and other goods had been taken, without reporting any serious injuries.
Colonel Boysie Zungu of the Durban municipal police said he was not aware of the incident and announced that follow-up action would be taken, according to IOL. The South African police had been informed and a vehicle had been seen in one of the streets concerned.
The incident comes after the South African judiciary placed restrictions on anti-immigrant protests in Durban on 30 October 2026.
