By Warren Mabona. Photos by Ihsaan Haffejee. /GroundUp

Marchers wave shields and sticks as they make their way through the streets of Pretoria towards the Union Buildings on Tuesday in a protest against immigrants.

More than 300 people protested in central Pretoria on Tuesday against the presence of undocumented immigrants in South Africa and high unemployment.

Led by March and March, the protest was joined by ActionSA and anti-immigrant vigilantes Operation Dudula. About 50 men and women waving knobkerries and shields joined the march, which started on Lilian Ngoyi Street.

Tensions ran high when marchers arrived on Robert Sobukwe Street in Sunnyside, an area with many immigrants. Most businesses shut their doors. Dozens of police officers had to prevent people threatening to break into shops.

Protesters hurled insults, calling people watching from balconies and windows “amakwerekwere”, and told them to go back to “their” countries.

Before the march, March and March founder Jacinta Ngobese-Zuma said criminals from other countries often fled to South Africa.

“They are not victims,” said Ngobese-Zuma. “If you walk down the roads, you will find that they take buildings. There are drugs. There is prostitution. There are cartels. There are mafias. So, everything in this country is a fertile ground for criminals to thrive.”

Video: Ihsaan Haffejee

She said police should do a proper job of checking documentation.

She said her organisation is being vilified. “We are under attack from across Africa … The only thing that they do is to label us as xenophobic. There is nothing xenophobic about wanting law and order in your country.”

A memorandum was read out at the Union Buildings by March and March treasurer Sanele Nkambule.

“Many spaza shops and informal businesses in the townships are owned or run by foreign nationals without proper trading rights,” said Nkambule.

He said immigrant shops were not being taxed, placing “an unfair burden on citizens who pay taxes”.

The organisation demands that all spaza shops must be run by the South Africans, and that there must be an audit of all immigrants and a review of all study visas.

They also want President Cyril Ramaphosa to deploy the army in areas where there are many immigrants such as Sunnyside and Hillbrow.

Deputy Minister in the Presidency Nonceba Mhlauli accepted the memo. She said ports of entry are to be upgraded and secured, and immigration laws are being overhauled.

“The problem of undocumented foreign nationals in our country is a legitimate concern,” said Mhlauli.

Jacinta Ngobese-Zuma (centre with glasses), the founder of March and March, during the protest in Pretoria.

Police help a street vendor who was attacked by some of the marchers.

A member of the police stands guard in front of a shop as anti-immigrant protesters gather outside it.

People watch the protest from their balconies as the marchers moved through the largely immigrant neighbourhood of Sunnyside in Pretoria.