PRETORIA, SOUTH AFRICA — As South Africa prepares for the nationwide June 30 march against illegal immigration, Jacinta Ngobese-Zuma, founder of the activist group March and March, has strongly pushed back against government warnings. Speaking to the media ahead of the demonstrations, Ngobese-Zuma accused authorities of instilling unnecessary public fear and misallocating security funds, while maintaining that the upcoming protests will remain peaceful and strictly focused on exposing criminal syndicates.
The planned demonstrations are expected to span at least seven of South Africa’s nine provinces, with mobilization efforts ongoing in the Northwest and Free State. According to Ngobese-Zuma, the primary objective of the march is not to incite violence, but to compel law enforcement to act on community-identified crime hotspots. She stated that the organizers intend to work alongside external police units—such as the Public Order Policing (POP) and the National Intervention Unit (NIOU)—to direct them toward areas plagued by drug trafficking, human trafficking, and prostitution. She specifically highlighted notorious hotspots including Sunnyside in Pretoria, Hillbrow in Johannesburg, Point Road in Durban, and Mayfair, urging police to stop turning a blind eye to these criminal networks.
Addressing the intense national anxiety surrounding the June 30 date, Ngobese-Zuma clarified that March and March did not originally designate the day as a deadline. She attributed the announcement of the date to a fellow organizer identified in the interview as Phakel’umthakathi, who allegedly set it as a final call for undocumented immigrants to self-deport. Ngobese-Zuma argued that the government’s reactive stance and heavy-handed rhetoric have artificially inflated the date into a perceived “D-Day.”
She explained that March and March is proceeding with the demonstrations because citizens have already taken leave from work in anticipation of the date. She expressed concern that if people are left idle without a structured, peaceful outlet for their frustrations, it could lead to the very violence, looting, and “silly ideas” the government fears.
Furthermore, she heavily criticized the government’s deployment of 600 million rand to secure the protests. She argued that these funds are being wasted on temporary protest management rather than addressing the root causes of the immigration crisis. Instead of funding protest security, she insisted the money should be used to secure the country’s borders, build border gates, and drastically increase the number of immigration officers, noting that the country currently relies on only 800 officers to manage a massive immigration crisis. She also pointed to areas like Mayfair, where she claimed South Africans are being chased out by foreign nationals, as examples of where the security budget should be actively focused.
The founder also defended the use of traditional Zulu attire, including the carrying of sticks, during the marches. Dismissing claims by some media and religious groups that the traditional dress is intended to intimidate, she compared it to the attire worn at Zulu weddings and cultural celebrations, arguing that citizens should not be shamed or labeled as vigilantes for their cultural identity.
Additionally, Ngobese-Zuma raised questions regarding the funding of various Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs) and Non-Profit Organizations (NPOs) that have been vocal about the marches. She called on the Department of Social Development to trace the foreign agency funds allocated to these groups, suggesting a lack of transparency in how the money is utilized and registered, and questioning the influence of external forces.
On the issue of law enforcement and documentation, Ngobese-Zuma clarified the group’s stance on identity checks. She emphasized that March and March does not advocate for civilians to stop and check people’s IDs. However, she expressed support for the government to legally mandate that all individuals carry their identification documents to prove their legal status in the country.
She argued that true peace will only be achieved when the government consistently enforces existing laws. This includes arresting corrupt Home Affairs officials who sell documents, penalizing those who knowingly employ or house undocumented foreigners, and properly identifying individuals during police operations. “We have never gone out to do operations without the police,” she noted, stressing that law enforcement must be present to properly identify and arrest undocumented individuals.
Despite the government’s warnings and the heavy police presence planned for the day, Ngobese-Zuma remains defiant. She warned that if the government fails to address the core issues of border security and illegal immigration, the marches will not stop on June 30.
“We’re not going to stop just because the 30th has come. After the 30th, we’re going to march even more,” she stated, placing the onus squarely on the state to resolve the crisis rather than merely managing the protests.
