WATCH | Home affairs U-turn too late, Soweto has already burnt, says residents

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Some community members in Orlando West admitted to setting cars alight after a violent confrontation on Thursday with foreign nationals who refused to vacate a house and allegedly opened fire on them.

WATCH | ActionSA supporters gathered outside Orlando Police Station in Soweto for a picket calling for arrested foreign nationals to be processed and deported. They insist Home Affairs’ withdrawal of its asylum seeker directive is too little, too late. https://t.co/SeZyjzimvO

The chaos erupted on Thursday on Khumalo Street when residents tried to remove a foreign national from a property in the area.

“We fought with the Somalians, when we were removing one of them in the area, he refused to open the shop and we started fighting with them,” said Sifiso Zulu, a resident from Orlando East.

Zulu said police intervened, but tensions boiled over.

“Police intervened, especially JMPD, and spoke to them and they didn’t listen. Then they came out, and we had a conflict with them. They took out a gun and fired shots, then JMPD responded, and that’s how we set the cars alight.”

Several cars were torched and spaza shops looted during the overnight clashes. No injuries were reported, but gunshots rang out late into the night.

We were protesting peacefully about home affairs refusing South Africans. Then foreign nationals retaliated

The violence came amid fury over the department of home affairs directive on asylum seekers’ applications, which the department withdrew on Friday morning following protests in Durban and Soweto.

The directive was issued after the Constitutional Court handed down its binding judgment on July 7 in the Scalabrini Centre of Cape Town and Others vs Minister of Home Affairs matter, ruling that asylum seekers cannot be barred, detained or deported due to procedural or technical immigration errors, including irregular entry or failure to meet strict reporting deadlines.

But for residents, the withdrawal is too little, too late.

On Friday community members and members of Action SA gathered outside the Orlando police station in Soweto, picketing and calling for arrested foreign nationals to be processed and deported.

On the withdrawal of the home affairs directive, community member Lindiwe Motjatau said: “I feel it’s too little, too late, because the damage is already done.”

We found an internet cafe opposite home affairs issuing asylum to foreigners. Home affairs processes inside, then they print outside. We found the documents

The community is now demanding all foreign nationals leave. “We don’t want the withdrawal, we want them to leave,” Motjatau said.

Another resident, Themba Tafane, said the withdrawal is too late. “We were protesting peacefully about home affairs refusing South Africans. Then foreign nationals retaliated,” he said.

Residents say they have also uncovered an internet cafe directly opposite the Orlando home affairs office that has been allegedly issuing asylum documents to foreign nationals.

“We found an internet cafe opposite home affairs issuing asylum to foreigners. Home affairs processes inside, then they print outside. We found the documents,” Zulu said.

The discovery has fuelled anger, with residents accusing officials of refusing South Africans access to home affairs while prioritising foreigners.

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