Listen to this article.
By Palesa Matlala
- March and March says the government does not take South Africans seriously and its 30 June deadline for undocumented foreigners to leave stands firm.
- While ministers met protest groups in Pretoria on Monday, solidarity groups picketed outside St George’s Cathedral in Cape Town to defend African migrants.
Anti-migrant group March and March is not standing down. The movement says its 30 June deadline for undocumented foreign nationals to leave South Africa stands, and it is warning that the government is not taking the crisis seriously.
The group made the announcement after a Security Cluster meeting at the Union Buildings in Pretoria on Monday, where ministers and senior officials met political parties and protest groups to discuss rising demonstrations against illegal immigration.
March and March member Sanele Dube said the movement was troubled by how Defence Minister Angie Motshekga framed the shutdown date.
“For us, it seems the government does not take South Africans seriously,” Dube said.
“South Africans are saying they have had enough of illegal foreign nationals and want them removed from the country.”
Dube rejected claims that the campaign was xenophobic.
“Our call is not xenophobic. It is a call centred on the national security of the country,” he said.
He added that the movement had support beyond KwaZulu-Natal, with gatherings planned in Rustenburg and Limpopo.
Motshekga told reporters that South Africans had every right to protest on 30 June. But she was firm that the government would not be rattled.
“On 1 July, the sun will still rise in the east and set in the west,” she said.
She condemned violence at recent marches, saying she was disturbed by footage of a South African pepper-spraying a foreign migrant.
“At the end of the day, they are human beings. We have a duty to protect everybody’s dignity,” she said.
Justice Minister Mmamoloko Kubayi pushed back against claims of government inaction.
“We have not been lukewarm,” she said.
“Joint operations have been taking place week in and week out.”
While the Pretoria meeting was under way, a different scene was playing out in Cape Town. Solidarity groups picketed outside St George’s Cathedral on Monday to show support for African migrants. The Ubuntu Rural Women and Youth Movement’s Wendy Pekeur warned that targeting migrants deepens divisions.
“There’s unemployment, there are high levels of violence in this country, there are issues, but we cannot blame it on our fellow brothers and sisters,” Pekeur said.
Pictured above: Anti-migrant leaders at the March and March movement.
Image source: March and March movement
