Hundreds of South African citizens participated in a demonstration aimed at opposing illegal migration. The movement's founder, Jacinta Ngobeze-Zuma, stated that the main goal of the protest is to prioritize South Africa and ensure the rule of law in all possible forms, calling on men to lead the procession.
The march proceeded from Albert Park to the police station in Point, Durban. During the procession, militant songs were played, and placards with the slogan 'enough' were displayed.
One representative of the group, Lindani Khulu, stated that it was time to act rather than just talk, and demanded an increase in police presence and the installation of surveillance cameras on the streets to combat gender-based violence and improve community safety. This protest, which initially focused on illegal migration, subsequently shifted to combating patriarchal violence after the number of murdered women in the Ekurhuleni municipality, east of Johannesburg, rose to 12. Four people have been arrested in connection with these murders so far.
The protest took place one day after the President of South Africa, Cyril Ramaphosa, addressed the nation with the announcement of a package of emergency measures designed to strengthen the state's response to violence against women and children. Ramaphosa's announcements include a national operation to resolve protracted cases, reducing the analysis time for forensic evidence, conducting safety audits in municipalities, and establishing a national council on gender-based violence and femicide.
Anti-immigration groups attribute South Africa's economic problems, poor provision of public services, and high crime rate to migrants, and at this demonstration, they linked the issue of gender-based violence to the presence of undocumented foreigners.
According to official data provided by relevant governments, approximately 180,000 citizens from Zimbabwe, Malawi, Ghana, Mozambique, Nigeria, Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania, and the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) have been repatriated to their countries amid a wave of xenophobia against African migrants in recent months.