March and March Leader Asks for Buses to Confront Foreign Nationals in Gqeberha

March and March Movement leader Jacinta Ngobese-Zuma has appealed for funders to help provide buses so that supporters can travel to Gqeberha in the Eastern Cape. She wants the group to confront Somalian and Ethiopian nationals who were recently filmed chasing South Africans.

The call follows several videos that spread quickly online. In one recording from Korsten, a group of foreign nationals was seen approaching a community meeting held with local taxi drivers. Some reports claim the foreign nationals carried weapons while locals were unarmed. In another incident earlier in the week, community members and taxi drivers chased foreign nationals out of parts of Central Gqeberha. Residents said the action followed allegations that drugs were being sold to schoolchildren.

Ngobese-Zuma made the request while speaking to a crowd of supporters. She asked anyone with resources to step forward and fund transport so that members of the movement can go and address the situation themselves. The video of her address was shared on social media on Friday afternoon.

March and March has been organising marches and public actions against illegal immigration for more than a year. The group says undocumented foreign nationals put extra pressure on jobs, schools, clinics and community safety. They have held protests in several provinces and often use the slogan that foreign nationals must leave.

The latest call comes at a sensitive time for the movement. In Durban, police recently asked the high court for an order to restrict their marches after weeks of tension near the Home Affairs refugee reception centre. A judge has ordered the group to pause certain activities in the city until after the local government elections.

In Gqeberha, local residents say they are responding to crime and the feeling that some areas are no longer under South African control. Others have warned that sending groups from other provinces could increase the risk of violence. Police have been present during the recent clashes but have not yet released full details of any arrests.

Ngobese-Zuma’s request for buses shows that March and March intends to expand its actions beyond KwaZulu-Natal. It is not yet clear how many people will respond to the funding appeal or when any trip to the Eastern Cape might take place. Community leaders in Gqeberha have called for calm while authorities investigate the claims made in the videos.

Source: https://x.com/ZANewsFlash/status/2116246267110322559

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