Anti-Migrant Protest Shuts Down Durban Home Affairs Refugee Centre
Operations at the Department of Home Affairs Refugee Reception Centre on Moore Road (Che Guevara Road) in Durban ground to a halt on Tuesday after members of the anti-illegal immigration group March and March staged a demonstration outside the facility.
Led by movement leader Jacinta Ngobese-Zuma, the demonstrators blocked access to the building, disrupting the processing of asylum seekers and bringing applications to a standstill.
The blockade left scores of foreign nationals—including women and young children—waiting outside in intense 29°C heat.
The demonstration was sparked by a recent Home Affairs directive ordering refugee reception offices to accept asylum applications from undocumented individuals who entered South Africa irregularly.
The instruction follows a July 2026 Constitutional Court ruling that declared previous restrictive barriers to the asylum system unconstitutional.
March and March has strongly condemned the directive.
Activists claim that opening up the system allows individuals to exploit legal loopholes to evade local immigration laws and enforcement.
During Tuesday’s shutdown, protesters called upon law enforcement to search foreign nationals arriving at the centre for documentation.
The situation remains volatile, drawing a heavy police presence to prevent a recurrence of past violent clashes between activists and migrants in the area.
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