Colonial Policing Tactics: Metro Police Target Black Street Vendors While Drug Crisis Ravages Durban CBD

In yet another display of the colonial policing mindset that continues to plague post-apartheid South Africa, Durban Metro Police are waging a relentless war against black street vendors while admitting defeat in the face of the city's escalating drug and vagrancy crisis.

The systematic harassment of informal traders on Bertha Mkhize Street and the Warwick Triangle exposes the deeply entrenched bias that prioritizes protecting white commercial interests over addressing real threats to community safety.

Police Admit Failure Against Real Crime

Metro Police Colonel Boysie Zungu's candid admission that authorities are "losing the battle" against vagrants and drug dealers should shame every South African. This confession came after homeless individuals brazenly returned to Che Guevara Road, re-establishing their makeshift settlement near the M4 bridge just days after being cleared.

The situation reached crisis point when a viral video showed vagrants robbing a motorist in broad daylight, forcing the victim to abandon their vehicle and flee on foot. Yet instead of channeling resources toward combating this violence, Metro Police continue their daily raids against hardworking black vendors.

Economic Apartheid in Action

Thabo Ngcobo, a member of the Phinifa neDuku Association representing pinafore and headscarf vendors, describes a reality that echoes the pass law harassment of the apartheid era.

"We are literally living with the police," Ngcobo explained. "They come every day to confiscate our stock. Even if you kneel down and beg them, they don't listen."

The R600 fine imposed when stock is seized represents a crushing blow to families already marginalized by South Africa's economic inequality. This punitive system forces black entrepreneurs deeper into poverty while white-owned businesses in air-conditioned malls operate without harassment.

Moral Bankruptcy of Colonial Law Enforcement

Ngcobo's words cut to the heart of this injustice: "It pains us when the Metro Police admit they are losing the battle against amaphara (whoonga addicts), yet they seem to be winning the one they are waging against us."

The contrast could not be starker. While dangerous criminals terrorize communities, Metro Police dedicate their energy to persecuting black vendors whose only crime is trying to feed their families through honest labor.

"The whoonga addicts terrorise people by robbing and stealing. Those are the people the Metro Police should show enthusiasm to fight, not us. We are just putting food on the table for our families," she said.

The Colonial Mindset Persists

Colonel Zungu's defensive response reveals the institutional racism embedded in South African law enforcement. His claim that Metro Police are "simply fulfilling their mandate" ignores the selective application of these mandates.

The sudden shift in Zungu's tone, from admitting defeat against real criminals to claiming victory in "cleaning Durban's streets," exposes the true priority: removing black bodies from spaces deemed valuable to white capital.

Breaking the Chains of Economic Exclusion

This crisis demands immediate intervention from progressive leadership. The ANC government must recognize that informal trading represents black economic empowerment in action, not a problem to be policed away.

True transformation requires dismantling the permit system that serves as a modern-day pass law, excluding black entrepreneurs from economic participation while protecting established white business interests.

The time has come to redirect police resources toward genuine threats to community safety while supporting the informal economy as a cornerstone of black economic liberation.