Hundreds of demonstrators marched through Durban on Wednesday, calling for tighter immigration controls and the deportation of undocumented foreign nationals. The protest was organized by the civic group March and March and supported by political party ActionSA and vigilante anti-migrant group Operation Dudula. March and March’s leader, Jacinta Ngobese-Zuma, criticized government policies allowing undocumented foreigners to access public services, including healthcare, arguing they should pay for their own services. ActionSA leader Herman Mashaba said the government has been “too slow to act” and expressed full support for the demonstration, which also marked March and March’s first anniversary.
Participants, including Muzi Xaba, claimed undocumented migrants were taking jobs from South Africans, and anti-migrant groups also blamed them for rising crime and the erosion of local communities. Critics, however, have condemned the rhetoric as xenophobic, raising concerns about social tensions in the city.
