'No violence, no looting' | Anti-migrant coalition promises peaceful June 30 protest
Various civic organizations led by March and March leader, Jacinta Zuma-Ngobese have gathered at the Protea Hotel in Midrand to spell out their plan of action following the June 30 deadline that has been imposed for illegal migrants to leave South Africa.
Image: Itumeleng English/ ANA Studio
More than 20 anti-migrant organisations and civil groups, who are behind the looming June 30 protests, have vowed that there will be no violence, looting, or death.
They are calling for undocumented foreign nationals to leave the country by Tuesday.
The remarks were made during a joint media conference in Midrand, Johannesburg, on Wednesday, in which March and March leader Jacinta Ngobese-Zuma said that they had the support of many South Africans.
Operation Dudula, United South Africa, and Progressive Forces of South Africa are among the 27 groups behind the protest.
MK Party, which has publicly supported the stance of March and March, was also present at the press conference.
In a joint statement read by Musa Hlongwa, president of United South Africa, the groups called on the public to support the protest.
“Progressive business people, churches, traditional leaders, political parties, professionals, artists, the unemployed, the prisoners, the homeless, and all foreign nationals who are in the country legally to stand together and fight against the hostile takeover of our country.”
“We call upon South Africans to hold our government accountable. Your vote must never come cheap,” she said.
“We want our government to start respecting their bosses, their voters. We want the government to reconsider its priorities.”
She also criticised acting police minister Professor Firoz Cachalia’s R600 million budget allocation for the protest.
“It is interesting that the acting minister of police has dedicated his time to reassure foreign nationals that he will protect them, but not once has he ever assured South Africans that he is going to attend to their concerns.”
“He has blatantly refused to respond to the correspondence, but today he is prepared to spend 600 million against South Africans.”
On Monday, Cachalia announced that R600 million, typically allocated to police stations and community policing, would be redirected to security operations for the planned protest.
Hlongwa also criticised the South African Human Rights Commission, describing it as a “human rights commission of foreign nationals” with no understanding of the experiences of South Africans.
“The national interest, and this is why it is important to defend the sovereignty of the republic.”
Organisers of the protest have criticised the government’s reported R600 million allocation for security operations linked to the planned protests, arguing that funds should instead address policing and community concerns.
Image: Itumeleng English/Indepenendent Newspapers
“We note with grave concern that yesterday the Human Rights Commission organised a gossip session where South Africans were ostracised and their personal information was posted on a public platform without the Human Rights Commission condemning this behaviour.”
“All that we want is for the government to fix our borders by installing a fence. We are the legislation to be amended to allow BMA to operate within land. We want the budget of BMA and Home Affairs to be increased.
She said they want immigration officers to be transferred to BMA.
“We demand a policy shift. Put differently, our government must immediately declare that the township economy must be reserved for South African citizens only.
She said the township economy must be reserved for South African citizens only and that legislation and bylaws must be amended to give effect to this policy position.
“We demand a massive rollout of the deportation programme for the next six months. This will include, in particular, the deportation of undocumented Nigerian nationals, Somalians, those from Pakistan, Chinese, and illegal immigrants in general. We have been trying to engage with the government over the past 12 months, and it is clear that our government does not understand what we want.”
“This was confirmed by the address by the President. While we remain disappointed, we are not despondent. We still believe that we can find solutions for our problems.”
“We also believe that if the government takes time to listen, we will find each other. We commend government leaders who have tried to meet us halfway by accepting that there is a crisis and who are trying to fix the problem with us,” Hlongwa said.
They also criticised the Minister of Home Affairs, Dr Leon Schreiber, for his alleged silence on immigration matters.
“We have noted the silence of the Minister of Home Affairs, who at the time of need has elected to hide behind the energy of his deputy, and we are left to wonder, why does he remain mum? We note the silence of many political parties and academics - we see you.”
“We can't help but remember the words of Martin Luther King. In the end, we will remember not the words of our enemies, but the silence of our friends,” she said.
“Many questions have been asked about what will happen on June 30, 2026. The government has issued a statement saying it is going to spend 600 million as a result of the 30th.
“It has ensured that no police officer takes leave on the 30th, but not once have they tried to engage with us. That's what this government does. It plans for the citizens and against the citizens, but never concerns the very same citizens,” she said.
“It is interesting that when the same demonstration takes place in Europe, the government and the media refuse to refer to it as xenophobia or an act of vigilantism, but when South African citizens fight against lawlessness and try to prevent South Africa from becoming a failed state, then we are called names.”
According to her, Sections 32 and 34 of the Immigration Act is instructive that all people who are in the country illegally must depart, and that the state must deport all illegal immigrants.
“Section 38 states that no person shall employ an illegal foreigner. We are not calling for violence, but for the government and the business sector to respect the law.
Hlongwa said there will be no violence during the protest.
“It is that simple. No one will be violated, no one will be killed on the 30th of June, and no looting, I repeat, no one will be violated, no one will be killed on the 30th of June, and no looting will take place in our name. What we are going to do is to start a national march to freedom, a rolling mass action to continue until our demands are met by the government.”
“The 30th is not an event, but the beginning of a process, not only to liberate South Africans, but the entire Africa from the bonds of colonialism. We will demonstrate across the country peacefully, we will work tirelessly in a quest to hold our government accountable.”
Hlongwa said no one must aid and abet illegal immigrants.
“This includes our government. We want Section 42 to be observed. We call upon all our members and all our communities not to cause any destruction to property.”
“No shop must be looted. We are law-abiding citizens, and we don't behave like criminals who are selling drugs to our children.”
“The government has the power to stop the community-led protests by taking a decision to fence the republic, halt the refugee application process until the legislative amendments are concluded, transfer the township economy back to South Africans, increase the budget for the BMA and Home Affairs.”
Hlongwa said they demand that public schools prioritise South African children and also called for a report on what happened to alleged drug syndicates in the country.
“We want the government to present a proper plan to the nation on how they intend to address the immigration crisis, not just window dressing.”
“We call upon our members to take this to the streets peacefully, engage with the government, and never stop fighting until we win. It is not a responsibility to be carried by one individual, but all of us must play a part. But it starts with you, and no matter how small the contribution is, it matters,” she added.
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