Ngizwe Mchunu urges end to anti-immigration marches and draws criticism

Ngizwe Mchunu, a former radio personality and one of the leaders of anti-immigration protests, has urged fellow organisers to stop marching, saying sustained demonstrations were harming the country and its economy. His comments, posted in a short TikTok clip, have drawn criticism from leaders within the March and March movement.

Who said what

In the TikTok clip, commenting on the March and March action across the country on 30 June, Mchunu said:

“We are happy about the outcome of the protests. We did not achieve all that we wanted, but it was not meant to destroy the country. Much as we did not achieve all we wanted, we will not be marching forever. I speak this as a senior who knows how to be imprisoned. My fellow activists, Jacinta Ngobese-Zuma and Nkosikhona Ndabandaba, they don’t know what it is like to be arrested and they are juniors to me.”

Backlash from March and March

Sandile Dube, national spokesperson for the March and March movement, rejected Mchunu’s announcement. Dube said Mchunu “was not a founder nor a leader of March and March, but a former ally through his organisation, Amabhinca Nation.”

Dube also said the movement “has one founder and leader, Ngobese-Zuma, who is entrusted with the responsibility to lead the movement, together with the national executive committee.” He added that March and March “derives its mandate from the people of South Africa through a satisfaction survey informed by inputs from the masses on the ground through its ground structures, zonal, regional and provincial systems in place.”

Claims about impact and calls for enforcement

Dube said the public has called for intensified law enforcement and agency-led operations to ensure illegal foreigners are removed from sectors of the job market and replaced by South Africans. He said illegal foreigners were “hurting the economy as they were not contributing to tax collection.” Dube stated: “The more we employ South Africans, the better our tax collection revenue will be as they will be employed formally within the Labour Relations Act.”

Related developments and expert view

The Border Management Authority said it processed the repatriation of 72 906 foreign nationals at all its ports of entry from 7 June to 14 July.

Global reputation expert Tshepo Matseba commented that Mchunu’s announcement “signals a potentially important shift in South Africa’s migration debate.” Matseba said:

“Regardless of one’s views, his acknowledgement that protests cannot continue indefinitely reflects the reality that sustained demonstrations carry economic, legal and social costs. His comments suggest while concerns around illegal immigration remain, the conversation may be moving from continuous street mobilisation towards policy engagement, law enforcement and institutional solutions.”

Matseba added that South Africa’s reputation will depend on “whether it delivers lawful, balanced and sustainable solutions.”

Past incidents involving organisers

The article reports that in May Mchunu’s house in Durban was torched by people who came for him, but he was not home at the time.

What remains clear

The exchange highlights a split between at least one prominent former ally urging an end to large-scale street protests and March and March leaders insisting the movement remains led by its founder and guided by its structures.