SADC Summit Under Siege: "It’s Time to Fetch Your People" — Jacinta Ngobese-Zuma Slams Ramaphosa & Regional Leaders
The diplomatic decorum of the 46th SADC Summit in Durban was shattered this Monday as Jacinta Ngobese-Zuma, leader of the March and March Movement, launched a blistering attack on President Cyril Ramaphosa and regional heads of state. Rejecting Ramaphosa's claims of being "ashamed" of anti-migrant discrimination, Ngobese-Zuma accused the Presidency of prioritizing foreign nationals over the safety and education of South African children.
The protest, which targeted the presence of Zimbabwean President Emmerson Mnangagwa and Mozambique's Daniel Chapo, sent a clear message to the regional body: the movement has set a hard deadline of September 30, 2026, for the mass deportation of all undocumented foreign nationals.
"Nothing to be Ashamed Of": The Ramaphosa Critique
During a public lecture at UKZN on Friday, President Ramaphosa claimed South Africans were "deeply concerned and ashamed" by the ill-treatment of foreign nationals. Ngobese-Zuma wasted no time in Durban on Monday refuting this, stating that the President does not speak for her movement.
"Have you ever heard the president saying he is ashamed because South African kids have no learning space at Addington Primary but children of foreign nationals are admitted?" Ngobese-Zuma questioned.
The movement leader described current government leaders as "puppets" who prioritize money and foreign mines over the future of their own children, banking on taking them overseas when the country's social fabric fails.
"It's Time to Fetch Your People": The SADC Demand
The march targeted the SADC leaders specifically, with demonstrators demanding that neighboring governments take responsibility for their citizens living illegally in South Africa.
"Those presidents need to ask themselves why they are not creating opportunities for their own people. If the government wants a proper discussion, they need to address the issue without calling it xenophobia," Ngobese-Zuma added.
March and March has called for the total deportation of all undocumented foreign nationals by September 30, warning heads of state to prepare for a significant intensification of their "intensity" if demands are not met.
The New Alliance: Learning From AfriForum
In a surprising move, Ngobese-Zuma revealed that her movement is seeking to emulate the organizational models of AfriForum to build parallel self-reliance structures for black South Africans.
"We are going to take from the things that we can learn from AfriForum. They are out there building universities for themselves, they are able to prosecute, they are able to solve cases. That’s a model that we want for black South Africans," she explained.
To support this practical shift, she has launched the South Africa First Forum, a vehicle intended to provide legal services and tangible change for locals feeling abandoned by the state.
The SADC Squeeze: A Growing Domestic Firestorm
While the turnout in Durban was lower than expected (200 instead of 3,000), the rhetoric from Jacinta Ngobese-Zuma indicates that "outrage fatigue" regarding illegal migration is being replaced by a highly structured, legalistic strategy.
By targeting Presidents Mnangagwa and Daniel Chapo directly at the summit, the movement is attempting to shift the burden of proof from South Africa back to the source nations. As the September 30 deadline looms, the government's refusal to acknowledge the movement's grievances—framing them as "xenophobia" rather than "resource management"—is likely to only increase the intensity of the domestic firestorm.
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