Jacinta Ngobese-Zuma Says Nothing in Court Proved Protests Were Violent

Jacinta Ngobese-Zuma has said that nothing presented in the Durban High Court proved that March and March protests were violent. The leader of the anti-illegal immigration movement accused the state of making exaggerated claims without enough evidence.

She spoke after appearing in court on Friday, 30 October 2026. Acting Police Minister Firoz Cachalia and KwaZulu-Natal provincial commissioner Lieutenant-General Nhlanhla Mkhwanazi had asked the court for an urgent interdict. They wanted to stop March and March from organising marches, processions and protest convoys in parts of eThekwini, especially around the Home Affairs Refugee Reception Centre on Che Guevara Road.

Police said intelligence warned of a plan to burn down the centre. They also pointed to recent tension, including the killing of a foreign national in the Durban CBD and reports of armed men joining marches. The state argued that officers were often outnumbered and that reactive policing was stretching resources ahead of the local government elections on 4 November.

Ngobese-Zuma rejected the claims. She told interviewers that the opposing side had not provided sufficient proof of violence by her organisation. She has previously said the movement gives notice of marches and works with police to keep them orderly. She has also blamed some unrest on other people, such as those living on the streets in the city centre, rather than on March and March members.

The court granted interim relief. Judge Peter Olsen ordered the group to suspend demonstrations until 6 November, after the elections. After that, marches will face stricter rules on hours and a ban on traditional weapons such as sticks and knobkerries until the matter returns to court in January 2027. The judge made it clear that the order does not amount to a finding of wrongdoing against Ngobese-Zuma or the organisation. Both sides still have to file full papers.

After the ruling, some supporters moved through parts of the CBD. The movement has maintained that it is exercising a constitutional right to protest and that dialogue would be better than court orders. The case continues, with the full arguments still to be heard next year.

The developments come as public debate over immigration, service delivery and safety remains heated in KwaZulu-Natal and elsewhere. Local elections are only days away.

Source: https://x.com/Durbannetwork/status/2116191131419521097

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