Foreigners Celebrate As High Court Puts An Immediate Stop To Anti-Immigration Protests

A noticeable calm returned to Che Guevara Road (formerly Moore Road) in Berea, Durban, on Thursday afternoon following weeks of volatile demonstrations led by the March and March Movement against illegal immigration. Photographs captured by local news outlet MDNtv showed vehicular traffic flowing normally past key intersections, though a visible police presence remained positioned along the corridor to maintain public order.

The area surrounding the Department of Home Affairs Refugee Reception Centre on Che Guevara Road has served as a central focal point for prolonged protests. Demonstrators had repeatedly picketed outside the facility, disrupting daily administrative operations, blocking access for foreign nationals seeking asylum renewals, and escalating security concerns within the eThekwini metro.

The sudden restoration of order follows an urgent interim court interdict secured in the Durban High Court by Acting Police Minister Firoz Cachalia and KwaZulu-Natal Police Commissioner Lieutenant-General Nhlanhla Mkhwanazi. Law enforcement authorities petitioned the court for emergency relief under Uniform Rule 6(12), citing credible intelligence warnings of potential property destruction, including an alleged threat by rogue elements to burn down the refugee reception centre.

The state’s legal action comes after a series of violent incidents in the Durban CBD, including physical assaults, damage to business properties, and clashes between local activists and foreign nationals. SAPS leadership argued that an immediate prohibition on unsanctioned gatherings across eThekwini was necessary to prevent further loss of life and restore municipal stability.

The interim interdict strictly limits March and March protest activities pending a formal hearing scheduled for Friday, 30 October 2026, at the Durban High Court. Presiding judges are expected to hear arguments from both state legal representatives and defense attorneys for the movement—led by activist Jacinta Ngobese-Zuma—to determine whether the temporary restrictions should be made a final order of court.

Despite the legal restraint, movement leaders have signaled defiance, maintaining that peaceful public assembly remains a constitutional right. As state security forces prepare for potential court outcomes, police management emphasized that law enforcement units will remain deployed across Durban’s key transport routes and government facilities to enforce the court order and deter further unrest.

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