KZN premier urges arrests for incitement as migration summit calls for lawful, humane approach

According to IOL, Ntuli said the police should arrest people who make statements that incite violence in the province and that he would work with acting provincial police commissioner Major General Phumelele Makoba.

“Police must arrest people who are making statements that are inciting violence in the province. I will be working with Major General (Phumelele) Makoba.”

Engagement with civic groups and planned mobilisation

Ntuli told the summit that provincial authorities have engaged with civic organisations and committee formations that have raised concerns about undocumented migration. He said representatives of groups that organise public demonstrations and advocacy campaigns – including March and March leader Jacinta Ngobese‑Zuma and Phakel’umthakathi of Insizwa Nobunsizwa – had taken part in discussions.

According to IOL, Ntuli said those organisations expressed concerns about undocumented migration and its impact on communities, and reaffirmed their commitment to ensure planned public mobilisation for June 30 would be peaceful, lawful and constitutional.

“They assured us that their actions are intended to raise awareness and advance their concerns through local democratic means and not through acts of violence, intimidation, or vigilantism. At this stage, I have no reason to doubt the sincerity of these commitments.”

Balancing enforcement and humane, lawful management

According to IOL, Ntuli reiterated the provincial government’s position that “all undocumented foreign nationals must leave the province and go back to their countries, and so tell the issue of documentation.” At the same time, he warned civic leaders not to communicate messages that portray KwaZulu‑Natal as hostile to other African countries, and urged against xenophobia, afrophobia and hatred.

“The challenge is not rejecting fellow Africans or foreign nationals, but how to manage migration in a manner that is lawful, humane, orderly, and sustainable, while protecting the rights, security and socio‑economic interests of all who live within our borders.”

Ntuli said the summit was an opportunity to move beyond slogans and to distinguish between legitimate concerns about undocumented migration and prejudice against foreign nationals. He called for solutions that uphold both human dignity and the rule of law and stressed that managing undocumented migration requires more than rhetoric.

Home Affairs figures on asylum applications

According to IOL, Department of Home Affairs chief director Sihle Mthiyane said about 1.2 million people applied for asylum since 1998, of whom 90,000 are active, about 800,000 are inactive, and 320,000 are closed/finalised. Mthiyane was quoted as saying, “We don’t have a refugee problem. The problem that we have is the abuse of the refugee laws that we have in this country.”

Summit purpose

According to IOL, the summit in Durban served as a platform to address the challenges of undocumented migration and to foster community cohesion while exploring measures such as improved border management, better civil registration systems, regional cooperation and efforts to address root causes of migration.