Xenophobic: South African anti-migrant group gives undocumented foreigners Sept 30 deadline

The controversial anti-migrant group March and March has issued a new deadline for undocumented migrants in South Africa to leave the country.

The group set September 30 as the deadline during a demonstration held under the theme, ‘It’s time to fetch your people.’

March and March also called on heads of state attending the Southern African Development Community (SADC) Summit to prepare for the mass deportation of undocumented foreign nationals in South Africa.

The SADC Summit is currently taking place in South Africa and is expected to conclude on Monday.

March and March has accused President Cyril Ramaphosa of not adequately responding to their grievances and is calling for stronger action against undocumented foreign nationals.

Sandile Dube, the group’s spokesperson, said the movement would picket outside the SADC summit, which brings together leaders from Angola, Botswana, Comoros, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Eswatini, Lesotho, Madagascar, Malawi, Mauritius, Mozambique, Namibia, Seychelles, South Africa, Tanzania, Zambia and Zimbabwe.

Some of these countries were affected by the protests and subsequently repatriated their nationals from South Africa.

“The March and March movement hereby announces its second wave of June 30 National Day of Action and calls on all heads of state to prepare for a massive deportation of all illegal foreign nationals in South Africa by September 30, 2026,” Dube said.

Dube said movement was in a “structurally better position” than it was on June 30 to stage what it described as the “mother of all National Day of Action” protests against undocumented foreign nationals.

“The March and March movement is calling on South Africans to massively report any criminal activities in their respective communities to the SAPS and other law enforcement agencies,” he added.

Meanwhile, Ramaphosa, who is expected to assume the SADC leadership for the 2026 and 2027 term, said the country should be “deeply ashamed” of discrimination and ill-treatment of nationals from other countries.

Speaking in Durban on Friday during a public lecture at the University of KwaZulu-Natal, Ramaphosa said South Africa could not call for closer regional ties while people from neighbouring countries face discrimination, intimidation and violence.

Tensions over immigration have escalated in the former apartheid country since April.

The pressure has prompted African governments, including Nigeria, to repatriate thousands of their nationals from South Africa. South African authorities said over 100,000 foreigners were deported and that it spent $35 million for the security operation.

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