Zuma Tells MK Rally: ‘We Own The Land’ — But Foreigners Who Settled Won’t Be Driven Out

Addressing a packed MK Party rally, Jacob Zuma delivered a measured yet pointed declaration on Saturday that immediately split political opinion across the country. Standing before thousands of supporters, the former president drew a firm line between land ownership and migration — two topics that have long divided South African society along sharp economic boundaries.

Zuma told the crowd that his party harbours no intention of expelling foreign nationals who have built lives within the republic’s borders over many years. “We will not chase them away,” he confirmed, citing their long-standing presence as the basis for that position. However, he coupled that assurance with an emphatic reminder about indigenous rights: black South Africans never boarded aircraft to colonise distant territories — the land beneath their feet belongs to them by birth, by history, and by blood.

MK Party spokesperson Nhlamulo Ndhlela confirmed the remarks reflected official party policy. “Our position has always been rooted in dignity, not xenophobia,” Ndhlela stated. The party had not issued any formal written policy document on migration at the time of publication, and opposition parties including the DA demanded greater clarity on exactly which groups Zuma’s protection extended to.

The speech arrives against a backdrop of rising tensions across Gauteng townships, where locals and foreign-owned spaza shops have clashed repeatedly over trading permits and alleged undercutting of prices. Community organisations in areas like Tembisa and Katlehong have repeatedly petitioned government to tighten regulations, arguing that informal commerce corridors now overwhelmingly favour non-citizens with outside capital.

A woman near the front of the crowd — wearing an MK Party beret and clutching a homemade placard reading “Mzansi First” — wept openly when Zuma invoked the history of dispossession. Her reaction rippled through the surrounding section, drawing raised fists and ululation from dozens who felt, perhaps for the first time in years, that someone in power was naming their grief without flinching.

No clarity exists yet on how MK Party intends to reconcile its welcoming stance toward settled migrants with growing grassroots anger at the ground level. Would a government led by Zuma introduce formal residency protections — or simply leave communities to negotiate their coexistence without legislative backing? That question remained unanswered as supporters filed out into a bruised late-afternoon sky.