The March and March movement is set to descend on the Union Buildings in Pretoria today and Hillbrow, Johannesburg on Tuesday, April 28, with leader Jacinta Ngobese-Zuma heading mass demonstrations calling for the removal of undocumented foreign nationals.
The action follows a series of high-profile “clean-up campaigns” and protests in the Durban CBD and South Beach areas over the past year and marks a significant expansion of the movement’s footprint into South Africa’s economic heartland.
Gauteng law enforcement agencies have been placed on high alert as the group, supported by various civic organisations, continues to demand stricter enforcement of immigration laws and the prioritisation of South African citizens in the informal economy.
Speaking ahead of today’s proceedings, Ngobese-Zuma issued a scathing challenge to the international community and foreign nationals residing in South Africa, accusing them of “assuming the position of being victims” while ignoring the frustrations of locals.
“No matter how hard we try to explain ourselves—that there’s no xenophobia here, we are tired—they just start creating stories about people who are being hit, who are being killed,” Ngobese-Zuma said.
She dismissed claims of xenophobic violence as “lying,” questioning why those who label South Africa as xenophobic choose to remain in the country.
“If South Africa is xenophobic, why are you angry then that South Africans are saying go home? This is your opportunity to leave the xenophobic country. You don’t have to put up with all the pain and suffering that you claim you’re going through.”
The movement’s leader also pointed to the popular television show Sizok’thola as evidence of what she claims is a disproportionate involvement of foreign nationals in criminal activities, specifically drug trafficking.
Ngobese-Zuma further criticised the lack of political activism by immigrants in their home countries compared to their resistance to South African immigration policies.
“You fail to fight in your own country for your rights, with your own government… but you are here in South Africa fighting South Africans because they no longer want you here. Where do you get this energy?”
She maintained that South Africans are “the authority” in their own land and vowed that the movement would not be deterred by “hiding behind the banner of xenophobia.”
“Whether you like it or whether you hate it, South Africans are not going to move from the call of removing illegal immigrants. We are not going to allow you to break our laws anymore.”
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Siphesihle Buthelezi
iol.co.za
