Anger boiled over in central Johannesburg as anti-immigration group March and March took to the streets, with its leader Jacinta Ngobese-Zuma unleashing a scathing attack on police, local communities and foreign nationals.
The protest began at Mary Fitzgerald Square in Newtown, where hundreds gathered before splitting into groups. One faction, known as Amabotho, moved through Braamfontein and parts of Hillbrow, before converging at Library Gardens Square.
By the time the crowds reached the Gauteng Legislature, the mood had hardened, with more than a thousand demonstrators chanting and demanding action.
Ngobese-Zuma lashed out at what she described as corrupt police officers, accusing them of enabling drug networks and failing to act against undocumented immigrants. She also turned her anger on South Africans, particularly women she accused of entering “fake marriages” with foreign nationals.
“You, our sisters, create fake marriages with people from outside the country. You are selling our country for the world to see,” she said. “You say you marry them for love, but when they turn against you, you complain on TV for the nation to see.”
She didn’t stop there—taking aim at local landlords and consumers, she accused them of sustaining foreign-owned businesses while demanding that undocumented migrants leave.
“You are the ones who rent out shops to them, and then you go and buy there. You can’t say foreign nationals must go while you support their businesses,” she said.
The group also criticised the media for labeling them as vigilantes, insisting their actions are aimed at protecting communities.
March and March co-founder, evangelist Trevor Dlamini, struck a similarly hard line, claiming undocumented foreigners are criminals and invoking scripture to justify the group’s stance.
“They all flood South Africa. In the Bible, John 10:1 says anyone who enters without proper documentation is a thief,” he said.
One of the founders of March and March and evangalist Trevor Dlamini says illegal foreigners are criminals.
“They all flood South Africa, why? In the Bible John 10 vs 1 ‘anyone who enter a country without proper documentation that someone is a thief we know many foreigners enter South Africa without proper documents.”
United South Africans President Musa Mbewe say pushing out immigrants for the future of the country.
“Our children when they ask us what did you do when this (march) happened we will tell them we stood up and fought for our country.”
The demonstrators have given Gauteng Premier Panyaza Lesufi seven days to respond to their memorandum of demands.
A government representative received the memorandum on behalf of the provincial administration following what officials described as a peaceful procession through the city.
