A South African civic group called March and March held a rally in the city of Durban on Wednesday to call for tougher immigration laws and stronger border controls.
The group was particularly critical of migrants from Nigeria, disparaging them as parasitic and prone to crime.
The Vanguard of Nigeria said the March and March activists were joined by “several political parties, including ActionSA, and vigilante anti-migrant group Operation Dudula” in their call for mass deportation of foreign nationals, using language “widely condemned as xenophobic.”
“If you are saying you can’t refuse [illegal aliens] healthcare for example, why must it be public? Make them pay for their own healthcare if they want to be here in the country milking our resources for all that they have,” March and March leader Jacinta Ngobese-Zuma complained.
Ngobese-Zuma is a 39-year-old black radio personality who created March and March last year to reflect “the depth of public concern about immigration policies and their impact on citizen employment, education, healthcare, and safety.” In addition to stronger border controls, one of the group’s major concerns is prioritizing jobs for South African cities ahead of foreign nationals.
In late January, the South African Police Service (SAPS) decided to file criminal charges against Ngobese-Zuma for inciting public violence against immigrants with a series of demonstrations at a primary school in Durban, her home base. March and March said it was concerned about undocumented migrants being admitted to the school, taking spots that should have been available to South Africans.
March and March scoffed at “the attitude of the State towards the South African citizens who are merely fighting for the rights of the disenfranchised and downtrodden people of South Africa,” while Ngobese-Zuma said she would surrender herself to the police instead of waiting for them to arrest her.
“We have come to a conclusion that indeed it is easy to arrest and abuse voters and taxpayers while foreign nationals, who are here illegally, continue to sell drugs and illicit goods unabated,” March and March said in a January 26 statement.
“We wish to warn the apartheid apologists that we will not be deterred. We will not stop fighting until our people are free and liberated from the modern-day occupation of their Country by criminals from all over the world,” the group said.
A month after she handed herself in to the authorities, Ngobese-Zuma said she had not been formally charged.
“The police have not given us any feedback. Many weeks later, I am still waiting to hear what the actual charge is,” she said.
“The case against me was opened by a certain police officer, whom they have refused to name,” she claimed. “It’s very ridiculous for them to try and use the law to intimidate people. I am not going to be intimidated by anyone.”
At the rally in Durban on Wednesday, ActionSA party leader Herman Mashaba accused the government of dragging its feet while South African citizens suffer from uncontrolled migration. He commended March and March for “raising this matter into the public domain.”
“We are seeing our government allowing our country to be flooded by groups from all over the world as far as Pakistan, Bangladesh, Nigeria, Mexico, all over the world. So, we are saying to our government this is unacceptable,” he said.
Other parties represented at the demonstration included the Inkhata Freedom Party (IFP) and Umkhonto we Sizwe (MK), the party established by former South African President Jacob Zuma.
“I have seen my country going down because officials take bribes to give documents illegally, police allow drug trade because they are paid,” said one of the marchers, 81-year-old Thembi Dlamini.
“Jobs are being taken away by our brothers from other parts of Africa who are here illegally. Where will our children get jobs?” he asked. South Africa’s employment rate is hovering around 32 percent.
Also involved in the march was Operation Dudula, an unabashedly xenophobic vigilante group founded in Soweto in 2021.
“Dudula” is a Zulu word meaning “to force out,” and Operation Dudula makes no secret of its desire to do exactly that to migrants in South Africa. The group is particularly insistent that much of South Africa’s drug abuse problem stems from foreigners bringing drugs into the country. Members of Operation Dudula have been accused of indiscriminately targeting foreigners for abuse, whether or not they were legally present in South Africa.
South African police used rubber bullets and tear gas to disperse the March and March demonstration after a small number of the demonstrators reportedly began harassing bystanders and looting nearby shops.
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