MARCH & MARCH VOWS PROTEST ESCALATION

March and March demonstrators say they will intensify marches against illegal immigration, saying President Cyril Ramaphosa’s Sunday night national address failed to offer concrete timelines for deportations and border control.

By MBULELO BALOYI and CHRIS MAKHAYE

March and March demonstrators say they will intensify marches against illegal immigration, arguing that President Cyril Ramaphosa’s Sunday night national address failed to offer concrete timelines for deportations and border control.

“More Talk, No Action”

Movement leader Jacinta Ngobese-Zuma told SAfm host Cathy Mohlahlana on Monday morning that the organization would escalate action after Ramaphosa’s “family meeting.”

“President Ramaphosa is wrong to say it is only the state that can make arrests. Section 42 of the Criminal Procedure Act states that citizens of this country have a right to make a citizen’s arrest when they witness criminality,” Ngobese-Zuma said. She added that while her organization did not set the 30 June deadline, some sections of the anti-immigrant march had.

Ngobese-Zuma accused Ramaphosa of “walking a tightrope” while avoiding direct action, insisting that citizen patrols would continue despite warnings against vigilantism. She said South Africans have lost patience with government inaction on undocumented migrants accessing jobs, housing and services.

ActionSA, whose leaders and members are often at the forefront of the March & March campaigns, also dismissed President’s remarks. Party president Herman Mashaba said: “Rather than presenting a clear shift in approach, the President merely repackaged the same failed and tired talking points that have characterised the ANC decades-long failure to secure South Africa’s borders.”

.Other political parties reacted differently: the DA welcomed Ramaphosa’s warning against xenophobia, while the EFF accused him of offering “no solution whatsoever” to the immigration crisis.

Ramaphosa’s Balancing Act

President Cyril Ramaphosa’s much-anticipated Sunday evening national address on illegal immigration was as notable for what it avoided as for what it promised.

Faced with growing public anger over undocumented migrants and mounting anti-foreigner mobilisation, the President sought to reclaim the narrative by acknowledging public concerns while drawing a firm line against vigilantism.

The address amounted to a balancing act: reassuring frustrated citizens that government is tightening immigration enforcement, while warning that self-appointed immigration patrols and xenophobic actions will not be tolerated.

Promises vs Reality

Ramaphosa announced tougher border controls, faster deportations and a national migration action plan. Yet critics argue that many of the measures are not new, and that government is only now responding to a crisis that has been building for years.

Politically, the speech reflected increasing pressure on the ANC from both opposition parties and grassroots movements that have successfully turned illegal immigration into a mainstream political issue. By conceding that migration management failures have fuelled public frustration, Ramaphosa implicitly acknowledged shortcomings within the State.

State Authority vs Vigilantism

Yet the President was equally determined to prevent the debate from sliding into outright xenophobia, stressing that South Africa’s economic and social challenges cannot be blamed solely on foreign nationals.

Ramaphosa attempted to occupy the middle ground: promising a tougher state response to illegal immigration while insisting that only the State, not citizens, civic groups or vigilantes, has the authority to enforce the law.

It remains to be seen what impact, if any, would the president’s speech in helping to defuse a developing crisis. TQ