Des Erasmus
March and March leader Jacinta Ngobese-Zuma has accused critics of anti-immigration protests of “hypocrisy”, saying Sherwood residents asked for help removing Malawian nationals sheltering at the grounds of a community hall.
Ngobese-Zuma posted the remarks on X on Thursday, a day after thousands of MK Party and March and March supporters marched through central Durban to protest against illegal immigration, poor service delivery, corruption, and hijacked buildings.
Her post comes as about 1000 Malawian nationals – the numbers having swelled dramatically – are seeking shelter at the Sherwood Hall grounds, about six kilometres from the Durban CBD.
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The Malawian nationals on Sunday started gathering at the grounds, having to flee from nearby informal settlements after being threatened and chased by locals.
Anti-illegal immigrant groups including March and March have set a “deadline” of 30 June for a “national shutdown”, saying undocumented foreigners must have left the country by that date.
Said Ngobese-Zuma on X: “Last night I got a call from some very stressed members of the Sherwood community who were frustrated by the Malawians who are sleeping at the park, they wanted help to get them deported because they don’t want them in their community.”
She said the call made her realise that some people wanted to “help” undocumented migrants and felt “pity” for them only while they were living in poor black communities and “fighting for schools, hospitals, grants and living space with them not in their communities”.
“Then it hit me, this is why the middle-class think that poor people are ‘vigilantes’ for wanting to preserve the little they have of their own spaces etc. Because they think that black poor South Africans don’t deserve it,” she said.
She said poorer South Africans were also entitled “to live in clean, peaceful places with no long queues and poor service delivery”.
Some critics wanted “their modern day slaves in the country but just as long as they don’t occupy the same space they do and compete for the same resources they have”, she said.
Wednesday’s march was led by MK Party secretary-general Sbonelo Nomvalo and Ngobese-Zuma. Despite a heavy police presence, some CBD businesses closed as the estimated 3 000 protestors snaked through the streets.
Addressing supporters at the march, Ngobese-Zuma said: “I am saying to you all that on the 30th of June, we do not steal and we do not loot. What we do on that day is ask them (illegal foreign national) cordially that they leave (South Africa).”
SAPS Public Order Policing and Durban Metro Police have been deployed at Sherwood Park. Mobile toilets and tents have also been provided. Gift of the Givers has been distributing water, blankets and mattresses, with women and children receiving the items first.
The Malawian embassy is arranging buses to repatriate the migrants, while the Department of Home Affairs is registering their details ahead of the repatriation process.
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During a national address on Sunday night, President Cyril Ramaphosa said that only the state may enforce immigration laws. He warned that government would act against groups exploiting public concern about illegal immigration for “political, personal or criminal purposes”.
He also announced tougher immigration enforcement, including dedicated immigration courts, stronger inspections of employers and weightier penalties for companies that hire undocumented workers.
Deportation of those in the country would also be ramped up, he said.
He said South Africa must address migration “without resorting to violence, intimidation, victimisation or xenophobia”.
Ghana, Nigeria, and Mozambique are also repatriating some of their citizens as violence and threats of violence intensify.
