March and March slams Ramaphosa’s immigration statement

African migration leaders marched in Durban to protest against the influx of undocumented migrants in South Africa. Despite only about 200 people attending the protest, the movement, known as March and March, led by Jacinta Ngobese-Zuma, continued to call for action from regional leaders. Ngobese-Zuma criticized President Cyril Ramaphosa for his statement labeling the issue as xenophobia, arguing that it paints a wrong picture of a president who does not understand the root cause of the problem.

She emphasized that the issue should not be framed as xenophobia, as it is not, and that the real issue is the lack of opportunities in African countries that force their citizens to seek opportunities in other nations. Since the protests intensified in June, about 200,000 undocumented migrants have been deported, but Ngobese-Zuma insists that this is not enough and the protests will continue.

She also mentioned plans to collaborate with AfriForum to learn from their strategies and support people needing legal services through her South Africa First Forum.