SOUTH Africa’s ruling party, African National Congress, has rebuked vigilante groups that are threatening foreign nationals to leave the country before June 30, saying who are they to issue that directive without government authority.
Zimbabweans constitute quite a huge number of foreigners in South Africa, who are likely to be affected by the March and March, and Operation Dudula vigilante groups’ threats.
ANC secretary-general Fikile Mbalula criticised Jacinta Ngobese-Zuma over remarks she made, which the former said amounted to threatening violence on national television.
Mbalula issued a firm warning against vigilantism, stressing that citizens cannot combat unlawful conduct in a democracy by engaging in unlawful activities themselves.
Speaking during the ANC national executive committee (NEC) meeting, Mbalula said South Africa was a constitutional democracy and “cannot allow vigilante groups to operate outside the law”.
He warned against inflammatory rhetoric, referencing the deadly July 2021 unrest that took place in South Africa which left more than 300 people dead and caused widespread destruction to businesses and infrastructure.
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Said Mbalula: “You can’t go on national TV and threaten violence… who are you? Look what they did in the July unrest.
“Now these ones think this thing is doable. You go on national TV and say if you don’t move by such a date, you will see what will happen. Who are you?”
Mbalula’s warning followed remarks made by the firebrand March and March movement leader Ngobese-Zuma, speaking on a televised broadcast, where she gave President Cyril Ramaphosa an ultimatum to address the South African nation before June 30, 2026, regarding her organisation’s demands on irregular foreigners.
Ngobese-Zuma said failure by Ramaphosa to adhere to the demands listed by March and March would result in South Africans taking to the streets en masse to hunt down illegal foreigners with the aim of chucking them out of the country.
She delivered the ultimatum during a media briefing in KwaZulu Natal on Monday evening.
March and March movement started as a Facebook call in March last year for South Africans to march persistently on the streets until illegal foreigners are removed from that country.
The movement has grown in numbers, with a footprint in several provinces in South Africa.
She said South Africans were neither violent nor xenophobic, adding that they gave the South African government enough time to address the issue of illegal foreigners but their patience run out due lack of response.
“This freedom has not brought us the land and opportunities that we desperately need; our people’s aspirations are still a pipe dream,” Ngobese-Zuma said.
“When a poor person dies of hunger, it is not because God didn’t take care of him or her; it is because neither you nor I gave that person what she or he needed.
“Our people want justice and they want it now. Let us all rise together now to save our country and people from hunger and inequality.”
She called on Ramaphosa to stop processing refugee applications as well as granting refugee status to foreigners within 14 days from then, deport all irregular foreigners living in the country immediately and force them to pay for the costs of their deportation so as to discourage them from returning to South Africa.
She also demanded the amending of the law to allow Border Management Authority to operate inland as well since they are the ones who grant people entry to that country.
She also demanded the transfer of immigration officers to the Border Management Authority and an increase in the number of immigration officers because the present 800 is ridiculous.
Ngobese-Zuma also wants border police officers to be placed under the stewardship of the Border Management Authority so that it can be clear as to who is in charge.
She said at the moment, the South Africa National Defence Forces, the South Africa Police Service and the Border Management Authority officers did not coordinate to prevent irregular entry to the country.
Among other demands, she also wants the setting up of a budget for a security fence and to declare a state of emergency against illegal immigration as it is tantamount to the invasion of the country.
The developments came following recent protests organised by the March and March movement in Durban and Ekurhuleni, where demonstrators demanded jobs and called on undocumented foreign nationals to leave that country by June 30.
In Durban, tensions between protesters and foreign nationals escalated to clashes, while over 500 foreign nationals marched demanding protection and alternative shelter after fleeing their homes fearing violence.
Mbalula said the situation bordered on vigilantism because it operated outside the State’s laws.
“People have the right to protest, but not to take the law into their own hands.
“The State must intervene.”
He said vigilante actions created the impression that no authority existed in South Africa.
Mbalula said the ANC NEC would deliberate on the matter and provide a more refined position after the discussions.
Critics accuse some political activists of using inflammatory language that can incite unrest, while supporters argue that they are expressing frustration over socio-economic challenges faced by citizens.
This came at a time when several groups in Zimbabwe have appealed to the Southern African Development Community and the African Union to initiate broader regional discussions on migration, labour mobility and anti-xenophobia policies following escalating anti-migrant campaigns and violence in South Africa amid concerns diplomatic relations may be damaged on the continent.
Zimbabwe National Liberation War Veterans Association chairperson Andreas Ethan Mathibela expressed concern over increasing xenophobic attacks and hostility directed at Zimbabweans and other African migrants living in South Africa, warning that the trend threatens African unity, regional stability and pan-African ideals.
Mthwakazi Republic Party president Mqondisi Moyo criticised xenophobic violence in some parts of southern Africa, saying African governments preach pan-Africanism while migrants face attacks and discrimination in neighbouring countries.