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The South African Police Service (SAPS) has assured South Africans it is fully prepared to maintain law and order ahead of the June 30 deadline set by anti-illegal immigrant groups for undocumented foreign nationals to leave the country.
Police spokesperson Brig Athlenda Mathe said SAPS management briefed acting police minister Firoz Cachalia on the country’s state of readiness during a meeting held in Pretoria.
The briefing was led by acting national police commissioner Lt-Gen Puleng Dimpane and included deputy national commissioners, provincial commissioners and divisional commissioners from operational and intelligence environments.
According to Mathe, Cachalia urged all provincial commissioners to enforce the law without fear or favour and to respond swiftly and decisively to any acts of incitement, violence, intimidation or criminality.
“The acting minister received detailed presentations on national and provincial operational plans aimed at ensuring that all demonstrations take place in a safe, secure and peaceful manner,” said Mathe.
After the briefing, Cachalia expressed satisfaction with the measures put in place by SAPS ahead of the planned demonstrations.
“In the coming week, the acting minister, together with the deputy ministers of police, will meet with the minister of defence and premiers of all nine provinces to reinforce effective co-ordination and monitoring among all relevant security role players and to ensure adequate support ahead of the planned demonstrations,” said Mathe.
Mathe said the police ministry would also engage representatives of the private security industry, recognising their role as force multipliers in enhancing safety and security.
“The ministry of police will further conduct visits to identified areas that have experienced heightened levels of instability to assess operational readiness and reinforce policing efforts,” she said.
Cachalia stressed that while the constitutional right to peaceful protest would be respected, authorities would not tolerate criminal conduct.
“While the constitutional right to peaceful protest will be respected, no acts of lawlessness, violence, intimidation or criminality will be tolerated. Weekly enforcement operations remain ongoing to verify the legal status of foreign nationals in the country. These operations are aimed at ensuring that all foreign nationals residing in South Africa are in the country legally and are in possession of valid documentation. Where violations of the law are identified, appropriate action will be taken in accordance with the law,” he said.
Mathe said the acting minister had assured South Africans that their safety remained a priority.
She said daily operational monitoring and assessments would continue throughout the week to ensure stability across the country and allow law enforcement agencies to respond quickly to any emerging threats.
The June 30 date has drawn national attention after an anti-migrant organisation issued an ultimatum for undocumented foreign nationals to leave South Africa.
Speaking on the sidelines of the official Youth Day commemoration at Nasrec in Johannesburg last week, President Cyril Ramaphosa urged South Africans not to take the law into their own hands.
“No South African must take any action against any person from any of our African sister countries. That is the responsibility of government and government officials,” said Ramaphosa.
He dismissed the significance of the June 30 deadline, saying the government was already addressing the challenges facing communities.
“So the so-called 30th of June, in my view, it’s not an event that is even necessary because we are addressing the challenges that our people are facing, and we must not allow South Africans to be duped and to be misled by those who want to foster instability in our country, and we will not allow that,” said Ramaphosa.
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