READ: SA Government Legitimising Anti-Migrant Vigilantes, Experts Warn
The South African government’s actions to deal with immigration tensions have so far only emboldened vigilante groups to take the law into their own hands, according to African Centre for Migration & Society (ACMS), University of the Witwatersrand experts Professor Loren B Landau and Dr. Jean-Pierre Misago.
“Our investigations show that in townships, ‘community development’ associations run protection rackets determining who can live, build, or conduct business in their ‘communities’,” the researchers said. “They work in collaboration with local police to remove unwanted people.”
[Graphic Credit: Sibusiso Biyela]
