JOHANNESBURG - Anti-immigration protests continue to grip parts of the country. On Friday, residents in the Ekurhuleni took to the streets, asking law enforcement to vet foreign nationals in their communities.
On Tuesday, foreign nationals in KwaZulu-Natal ran to the Durban Central Police Station seeking refuge after they alleged they were chased out of their homes. They spent the night camping outside the Diakonia Centre in the city after being chased away from the police station.
READ: Expert: Foreign nationals are scapegoated for real SA issues
Verifications done by Home Affairs officials on Thursday showed that 457 of the 459 nationals at the centre were in the country legally.
While many countries have taken to their various platforms to warn their people to be careful, Ghana announced that, at the time, 300 people had registered to be evacuated on Thursday on a 5am flight from OR Tambo International Airport.
Sylvester Boakye, a 22-year-old hairdresser from Pretoria, arrived Wednesday night. By 6am on Thursday, there was still no word of a Ghanaian flight out of South Africa. The Ghanaian government indicated in an updated statement that, due to legal conditions and flight permits needing to be sought.
Meanwhile, Prof. Loren Landau, co-director of the Wits-Oxford Mobility Governance Lab, said foreign nationals are being scapegoated for real issues.
READ: DIRCO calls for discussion after 1 person shows up for Ghana evacuation flight
Nothando Phuti from Kopanang Africa against Xenophobia has highlighted that it is illegal for any South African to ask anyone for any documentation about their residency and to forbid them from where to go, live, and work.
The National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) is hard at work trying to get the extortion case against Mpumalanga taxi boss Joe "Ferrari" Sibanyoni and three others re-enrolled.
In a surprising turn of events, the matter was struck off the court roll on Monday, after state prosecutor, Mkhuseli Ntaba, failed to arrive at the Kwaggafontein Magistrate's Court.
READ: Expert: Prosecutor's absence in Sibanyoni case could have been handled better
This is despite the judge ordering him on Friday to be in court. Ntaba had indicated to the court that he had another matter to attend to.
Sibanyoni, Bafana Sindane, Mvimbi Daniel Masilela, and Phillmon Msiza walked out of court on a technicality. Ntaba was subsequently suspended by the NPA.
Legal expert, Mpumelelo Zikalala, said that was not the best way the matter could have been handled.
According to Zikalala, the NPA does not work in silos, and someone could have stood in for Ntaba in the event of his absence.
READ: NPA suspends prosecutor in Joe 'Ferrari' Sibanyoni case
NPA Head of Legal Services, Advocate Mthunzi Mhaga, said they will look at whether striking the matter from the roll was the only other recourse the judge could have picked.
Mhaga said they are also looking for ways, within the confines of the law, to deal with what happened on Monday.
The South African Human Rights Commission (SAHRC) wrapped up its inquiry into Gauteng's water woes on Thursday.
The failures in the province's water supply have not only been frustrating to residents, but they have also created a booming business for water tanker operators.
READ: SAHRC hearings: Water tankers both 'blessing and curse' in Gauteng crisis
The City of Johannesburg has been spending around R130 million a year on tankers. Amid complaints of financial mismanagement, the municipality insists it’s prioritising service delivery.
In a city where 48 percent of water is lost through leaks and illegal connections, Rand Water said municipalities are failing in their duties.
The SAHRC said the crisis has reached disaster levels, and it’s considering asking the SIU to investigate possible municipal sabotage and collusion in the tanker system.