Court hears how anti-illegal immigration protestors locked down foreign-owned shops - EWN

The Pietermaritzburg High Court has heard how anti-illegal immigration protestors used their own chains and locks to stop foreign-owned shops from trading.

A total of 23 foreign shop owners in Nongoma, north of KwaZulu-Natal, have taken popular activist Nkosikhona ‘Phakel’Umthakathi’ Ndabandaba, along with seven others, to court over this matter.

The shop owners want the court to issue an order for the activists to remove their locks and chains from their stores and to also interdict them from disrupting their businesses.

On 14 October, a group, led by Nkosikhona ‘Phakel’Umthakathi’ Ndabandaba, shut down foreign-owned shops in the Nongoma CBD.

The group put their own chains and locks to prevent the shops from opening again.

Ndabandaba, who is representing himself in court, said the community of Nongoma had come to an agreement that foreign-owned shops in the town must be shut down.

Ndabandaba said the shop owners were told beforehand, and they agreed to cease operating their shops until their legal status in the country was confirmed.

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