- Six men speaking isiZulu stopped Advocate Moafrika Wa Maila on Bosman Street in Pretoria and asked to see his ID.
- He believes this encounter shows a rise in anti-foreigner sentiment after the 30 June protest marches.
- Wa Maila says immigration enforcement should be regulated and always happen within the law.
A routine stop for coffee turned tense for Advocate Moafrika Wa Maila. He says he was confronted by a group of men speaking isiZulu who demanded to see his identity document on Bosman Street in Pretoria.
Wa Maila said he parked on Bosman Street, then crossed the road to buy coffee from a nearby black-owned business. As he returned to his car, he noticed several men following him. “They stopped me just before I reached my car and said, ‘Baba, your ID,’” he recalled.
Wa Maila said there were about six men in the group, all speaking to each other in isiZulu. One young man stood out as especially confrontational and kept insisting that he show his identity document. He said he was carrying both his wallet and an open cup of coffee when he pulled out his ID and handed it over.
Questions About the Group’s Intentions
Wa Maila said things became more worrying when he asked the group what would have happened if he hadn’t had his identity document with him. “I asked them, ‘If I didn’t have an ID, what was going to happen?’” he said.
He also asked what they would have done if his ID had shown he was born in another country, like Zimbabwe. According to Wa Maila, their answers suggested the group cared less about documentation and more about whether someone was a foreign national.
“Their response made it clear to me that they didn’t care if someone was documented. They simply didn’t want foreigners,” Wa Maila said.
Reflecting on what happened, he said, “I realised this thing is real. It’s more real than social media. It’s more than Twitter or Instagram. It exists in real life.”
Incident Follows 30 June Protests
The encounter happened just days after thousands of South Africans joined the 30 June protest marches, which called for tougher action against undocumented immigration. Organisers have promised to keep protesting every Thursday to put pressure on the government to tighten immigration enforcement.
Although Wa Maila couldn’t say if the men were organisers or protest participants, he said the incident showed just how tense things have become around the issue of immigration. “I understand the frustration on the ground, but honestly, I wish it could be properly regulated,” he said.
He described the group as serious and intimidating, saying he believed they “meant business” before they eventually walked away.
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