Police are ramping up security measures ahead of a planned nationwide march against illegal immigration on June 30, as organisers vow to continue taking to the streets until the government tightens border controls and enforces immigration laws, while President Cyril Ramaphosa and Gauteng Premier Panyaza Lesufi urge South Africans to reject violence and allow the law to take its course.
The growing campaign, led by March and March founder Jacinta Ngebose-Zuma, has gained momentum amid rising frustration over illegal immigration, unemployment, and economic hardship, prompting authorities to intensify operational planning and daily monitoring across the country.
Following a high-level operational readiness briefing in Pretoria, Acting Police Minister Firoz Cachalia said SAPS was prepared to ensure that demonstrations take place peacefully and within the confines of the law.
"While the constitutional right to peaceful protest will be respected, no acts of lawlessness, violence, intimidation or criminality will be tolerated. Weekly enforcement operations remain ongoing to verify the legal status of foreign nationals in the country. These operations are aimed at ensuring that all foreign nationals residing in South Africa are in the country legally and are in possession of valid documentation. Where violations of the law are identified, appropriate action will be taken in accordance with the law."
The minister has also instructed provincial commissioners to respond swiftly to any acts of incitement, violence, or criminality as law enforcement agencies brace for demonstrations expected in several provinces.
In a statement ahead of the march, Ngebose-Zuma said South Africans were increasingly organising themselves because they felt the government had failed to address growing concerns around illegal immigration and labour exploitation.
The movement claimed that more than 13,000 undocumented Malawian nationals were being housed in Sherwood and questioned whether employers were benefiting from cheap labour while South Africans remained unemployed.
Ngebose-Zuma insisted the campaign was not directed at foreign nationals but at illegal immigration and the failure to enforce existing laws.
"We want no violence; put differently, we condemn violence, including the threats of violence from the state. We want stability in our country; we want the economy to work for all South Africans. We want illegal immigrants to self deport, we want our government to amend all the conflicting pieces of legislation, secure our borders, amend bylaws in a quest to reserve the township economy for South Africans."
She said the movement would continue mobilising until its demands were met.
"We will not stop taking to the streets until our demands are met; we will continue to engage with the state with the intention to solve this pervasive illegality and social instability occasioned by irregular migration. While we engage with our government, illegal immigrants must leave our country.
Speaking during voter registration activities in Katlehong on Saturday, Ramaphosa acknowledged public concerns around undocumented migration but said accountability should extend beyond migrants themselves.
"Those who are not documented, those who do not have the proper permits and papers to be here, should not be here."
He added: "Employers who employ undocumented migrants are the ones that we are putting a lot of pressure on."
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Lesufi echoed calls for immigration laws to be enforced but appealed for calm ahead of the demonstrations.
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"We don't want violence; we don't want people taking the law into their own hands on June 30. If you are in the country illegally, leave, but we don't want people to be hurt; we don't want people to be harassed; we don't want people to be violated. Let the law handle it, we will fix it."
The Star