Ramaphosa deploys troops to KZN to help control anti-migrant protests

President Cyril Ramaphosa has ordered the deployment of 510 soldiers to KwaZulu-Natal to support police efforts to control anti-migrant protests, Ramaphosa’s office said on Tuesday.

The deployment runs from October 9 until November 30 and is expected to cost R34.1 million.

It comes before November 4 local government elections and after calls by anti-migrant groups for nationwide protests.

READ: SAPS investigates murder of foreign national in Durban CBD

South Africa has seen months of anti-migrant marches this year that have drawn international criticism. Some marches have descended into violence, and thousands of African foreign nationals have fled the country.

Ramaphosa’s office said in a statement that the deployment followed recent violence linked to misinformation about a Constitutional Court ruling on asylum seekers.

READ: Asylum ruling splits judges as streets burn

This month anti-migrant protests in KwaZulu-Natal’s biggest city Durban and Johannesburg’s Soweto township turned violent, with vehicles torched and shops looted A foreign national was also allegedly beaten to death by a crowd in Durban last week.

The unrest followed disinformation about a July Constitutional Court ruling that asylum seekers cannot be denied access to South Africa’s asylum system solely for procedural reasons.

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