Johannesburg – The March and March movement is set to stage two major demonstrations in Gauteng, with leader Jacinta Ngobese-Zuma set to lead protesters to the Union Buildings in Pretoria on Monday and to Hillbrow in Johannesburg on Tuesday, 28 April, calling for the removal of undocumented foreign nationals from South Africa.
The planned protests mark a significant expansion of the movement’s activities beyond KwaZulu-Natal, where it has previously held a series of high-profile demonstrations and so-called clean-up campaigns in the Durban CBD and South Beach areas over the past year. Gauteng law enforcement agencies have been placed on high alert ahead of the marches, which are supported by various civic organisations demanding stricter enforcement of immigration laws and the prioritisation of South African citizens in the informal economy.
Speaking ahead of the protests, Ngobese-Zuma challenged the international community and foreign nationals residing in South Africa, accusing them of portraying themselves as victims while dismissing the frustrations of locals. 
“No matter how hard we try to explain ourselves, that there’s no xenophobia here, we are tired, they just start creating stories about people who are being hit, who are being killed,” she said.
Ngobese-Zuma dismissed claims of xenophobic violence as fabricated and questioned why those who describe South Africa as xenophobic continue to live in the country. “If South Africa is xenophobic, why are you angry then that South Africans are saying go home? This is your opportunity to leave the xenophobic country. You don’t have to put up with all the pain and suffering that you claim you’re going through,” she said.
The movement’s leader pointed to the popular television show Sizok’thola as evidence of what she claims is a disproportionate involvement of foreign nationals in criminal activities, particularly drug trafficking. She also criticised what she described as a willingness among immigrants to resist South African immigration policies while failing to fight for their rights in their own countries.
“You fail to fight in your own country for your rights, with your own government, but you are here in South Africa fighting South Africans because they no longer want you here. Where do you get this energy?” Ngobese-Zuma said.
She maintained that South Africans held authority in their own land and vowed the movement would not be stopped by accusations of xenophobia. “Whether you like it or whether you hate it, South Africans are not going to move from the call of removing illegal immigrants. We are not going to allow you to break our laws anymore,” she said.
