Bad News For Foreign Nationals – High Court Rejects Attempts To Stop March And March

The KwaZulu-Natal High Court in Durban has delivered a critical ruling in the legal battle between state law enforcement and the March and March movement, granting the organization conditional rights to proceed with public demonstrations.

Under the specific terms laid down by the court on Friday, 30 October 2026, the movement is permitted to conduct marches strictly between the hours of 09:00 and 15:00. The judge imposed stringent operational parameters on all participants, explicitly ordering that demonstrator faces must not be concealed and strictly prohibiting the carrying of sticks, traditional weapons, or dangerous implements during any procession. Furthermore, all public demonstrations must strictly stick to designated, pre-approved municipal routes mapped out in consultation with the South African Police Service (SAPS) and Metro Police.

The ruling comes as a partial compromise following an urgent legal application brought by Acting Police Minister Firoz Cachalia and Provincial Police Commissioner Lieutenant-General Nhlanhla Mkhwanazi. State authorities had initially sought a sweeping prohibition against the group’s protest activities across the eThekwini metropolitan area, citing severe public safety concerns, previous violent clashes, and intelligence reports alleging threats of arson against the Department of Home Affairs Refugee Reception Centre on Che Guevara Road.

While state legal representatives argued for total restrictions to prevent further property damage, business disruptions, and vigilante violence, the High Court emphasized the delicate constitutional balance between safeguarding public order and upholding citizen rights to freedom of assembly and public protest. By granting regulated protest windows while mandating strict security compliance, the court established clear legal boundaries aimed at preventing opportunistic violence, face-masked intimidation, and weaponized chaos on urban streets.

Reacting to the judgment outside the courthouse, movement leader Jacinta Ngobese-Zuma and legal counsel Xolani Zuma welcomed the decision as a victory for constitutional rights, maintaining that peaceful citizen advocacy must be protected from state overreach. However, SAPS public order units and deployed South African National Defence Force (SANDF) personnel stationed along the judicial precinct signaled that officers will strictly enforce the court’s restrictions. Public order commanders warned that any marchers operating outside the designated 09:00 to 15:00 timeframe, carrying weapons, concealing their identities, or straying from official routes will face immediate arrest and prosecution as the city prepares for the 4 November local government elections.

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