​“Ramaphosa Sent Soldiers to Hurt Us” March and March Leader Compares SA President to Mnangagwa

Jacinta Ngobese-Zuma, the leader of March and March, has compared President Cyril Ramaphosa to Zimbabwean President Emmerson Mnangagwa. She made the comparison after the government deployed soldiers to Durban during protests against illegal immigration.

The group gathered outside the Home Affairs Refugee Reception Centre in Durban on Tuesday. Members protested against undocumented foreign nationals working as delivery scooter drivers. Ngobese-Zuma addressed the crowd and said Ramaphosa had sent the South African National Defence Force to harm her members.

The government earlier announced that 510 SANDF members would support the police in Durban. Officials said the deployment was needed to keep law and order after recent violence linked to misinformation about a Constitutional Court judgment on the Refugees Act.

Ngobese-Zuma told supporters the government had gone to court to stop them from marching. She said March and March has been marching for 21 months and handing over memorandums, but no one listened. She also urged members not to vote for the ANC in the coming local government elections.

“All the police officers and members of SANDF are not here to protect you but to hurt you,” she said, according to reports from the scene. “They are being sent by Ramaphosa to shoot you.”

March and March has been active in KwaZulu-Natal and other parts of the country since 2024. The movement focuses on illegal immigration, crime linked to foreign nationals, and jobs going to non-South Africans. Ngobese-Zuma has previously compared the current government to the apartheid system, saying laws are being used to silence citizens who raise concerns.

The presence of soldiers and a large police contingent in the Durban CBD drew attention as the small group of protesters continued their march. Some South African delivery drivers joined the demonstration. Authorities have warned that anyone found to have incited violence will face the law.

The comparison to Mnangagwa comes at a sensitive time, with local elections set for 4 November. Ngobese-Zuma has used the protests to call on voters to reject the ANC, saying the government has failed to address the issues raised by ordinary South Africans over many months.

The deployment of the SANDF remains in place as police and soldiers work to prevent further unrest linked to the ongoing immigration debates in the city.

Source: https://x.com/MDNnewss/status/2115152288796864557

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