We Are Just Election Scapegoats: March & March Exposes True Reason Police Are Dragging Them To Court

March and March national spokesperson Sandile Dube has slammed the police’s urgent Durban High Court application as entirely baseless, accusing law enforcement authorities and executive leadership of using the civic movement as a convenient scapegoat for their own systemic failures. Speaking on the sidelines of the legal proceedings on Friday, 30 October 2026, Dube dismissed claims that the group intended to burn down state infrastructure, arguing that the intense state pressure against the movement is a politically driven campaign that will likely evaporate after the 4 November local government elections.

Responding directly to supporting affidavits submitted by KwaZulu-Natal Police Commissioner Lieutenant-General Nhlanhla Mkhwanazi and Acting Police Minister Firoz Cachalia, Dube rejected assertions that March and March organizes or promotes violence. State security agencies cited intelligence reports indicating a potential arson attack targeting the Department of Home Affairs Refugee Reception Centre on Che Guevara Road to justify securing an interim interdict under Uniform Rule 6(12). Dube vehemently denied the allegations, stating that the movement relies on peaceful public assembly under the Regulation of Gatherings Act and opposes the destruction of property, looting, and street violence.

Dube asserted that law enforcement management is relying on unverified rumors and manufactured security scares to cover up years of administrative breakdowns at Home Affairs and ineffective municipal policing. He argued that rather than taking responsibility for unmonitored borders, illegal foreign labor in township economies, and rising local crime rates, state authorities find it easier to target grassroots activists who expose these regulatory lapses.

Highlighting the timing of the interdict, Dube framed the government’s high-stakes court action as a temporary political maneuver calculated to influence the imminent local government elections. He suggested that political parties currently occupying executive office are attempting to suppress civic mobilizations to prevent public discontent over border governance and economic stagnation from dominating the polls. According to the spokesperson, the aggressive state crackdown and heavy-handed interdicts are bound to fade once the electoral period concludes, as the underlying social and administrative issues will remain unresolved.

The spokesperson reiterated that March and March will continue advocating for South African citizens, enforcing accountability around statutory immigration laws, and pushing for local government by-law reform regarding informal trade. Dube maintained that no amount of judicial interdicts or state intimidation will silence public demands for border security, emphasizing that the movement’s legal team—led by attorney Xolani Zuma—will vigorously oppose turning the temporary restrictions into a final order of court.

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