Campaigners resort to quasi-vigilante measures to enforce migration law because they say the police are not investigating their complaints and allege Home Affairs officials take bribes.
As the second phase of weekly Thursday anti-migrant protests begins, a new trend has emerged. The broad coalition of March and March, the Labour and Civic Organisation (Laco), the All Truck Drivers Forum and others have become labour inspectors.
This phase of the protests includes factory visits by march organisers to inspect for foreign-nation employments, the closure of spaza shops and meetings with managers to insist that South Africans are hired instead.
The government has repeatedly said such actions are illegal, but the marches are now so regular and so dispersed that the police seem unable or unwilling to stop inspections and forced meetings organised under a broad umbrella movement to support a six-month campaign running up to the national election.
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On Thursday, 9 July, marchers in Alexandra went factory-to-factory, visiting the light industrial area of Marlboro, insisting on in-loco inspections. Factories were forced to close and images showed nervous employees behind shut gates. Marchers armed with traditional weapons were threatening, but not visibly violent.
In the lead-up to the 30 June protests, marchers in Ekurhuleni's industrial hubs, including Boksburg, Springs and Benoni, staged multiple demonstrations, moving from business to business, carrying golf clubs, knobkerries and sjamboks, demanding...
