Jacinta Ngobese-Zuma Warns Parties Immigration Anger Could Cost Them More Votes

March and March leader Jacinta Ngobese-Zuma says political parties paid a price at the 2026 local elections for failing to listen to voters concerned about illegal immigration. In a post following the 4 November polls, she warned that parties risk losing even more support if they do not change course before the 2029 general elections. Ngobese-Zuma argued that immigration was a deciding issue for voters and accused parties of making the debate about her personally instead of engaging with public concerns. She said the movement had been raising the issue and claimed politicians chose to go against what voters wanted. Her warning was stark: parties that continue to ignore the subject, she said, could be removed at the next general election. The report describes March and March as a grassroots movement founded in 2024 and led by Ngobese-Zuma, a former Vuma FM presenter from KwaMashu, KwaZulu-Natal. The group has called for deportation of undocumented immigrants, stricter border controls and jobs to be prioritised for South Africans. It has also demanded regulation of the e-hailing and delivery industries. Ngobese-Zuma rejects accusations that the movement is xenophobic, saying it is focused on enforcing immigration law rather than targeting people based on nationality. Human rights groups and some political parties have criticised the movement, however, and raised concerns about protests associated with violence, intimidation and alleged attacks on foreign nationals and traders. March and March has recently been unable to hold demonstrations after a Durban High Court order temporarily suspended its marches until 6 November. The order was granted on 30 October following an urgent application by Acting Police Minister Firoz Cachalia and KwaZulu-Natal Police Commissioner Nhlanhla Mkhwanazi. Police cited concerns about escalating violence and intimidation, as well as intelligence warning of an alleged plan to burn down Durban’s Refugee Reception Centre.