March and March Movement is expected to return to the Home Affairs Refugee Reception Centre on Che Guevara Road in Durban today, Thursday, following last week’s violent confrontation with refugees and asylum seekers living on the pavement.

The planned action follows a “clean-up” operation on 3 September that descended into violence when March and March supporters confronted the refugees at the site. Police used stun grenades and rubber bullets to restore order, while several people were injured, including a police officer who was struck by a stone.

The refugees, many from the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Burundi and Rwanda, have been living outside the reception centre for months after saying they were forced from their communities by intimidation, threats and violence.

Refugee leader Bishop Raphael Bahebwa has maintained that most of those at the site are legally documented and have nowhere safe to return to. He has called for a 200-metre buffer between the protesters and the refugee camp, warning that another confrontation could put the refugees at risk.

March and March founder Jacinta Ngobese-Zuma says the campaign is aimed at forcing government to enforce municipal by-laws and address what the organisation describes as an unlawful occupation of the pavement, as well as associated health and safety concerns.

The organisation has given the eThekwini Municipality 14 days to clear the area and has called for undocumented foreign nationals to be repatriated. The city has maintained that the occupation is unlawful and that people who are legally documented should return to their communities.

Police are expected to maintain a presence in the area as tensions remain high following last week’s clashes.

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