South African former president Jacob Zuma's uMkhonto weSizwe (MK) Party, which has openly thrown its political weight behind the xenophobic anti-immigrant March and March movement, is crudely using the immigration issue to campaign for votes in the upcoming local government elections in November as shown in this video.
This has exposed Zuma, who spent decades living in Mozambique and Zambia; in and out of Zimbabwe during the anti-apartheid struggle, as an unprincipled leader who will do anything for political power.
Zuma's position is opportunistic.
His twins Duduzane and Duduzile were born in Maputo to a Mozambican mother and grew up there, as well as in Harare, Zimbabwe, and Lusaka, Zambia.
The Frontline States such as Angola, Botswana, Lesotho, Mozambique, Tanzania, Zambia and Zimbabwe supported the anti-apartheid struggle.
Over one million people died in the region due to apartheid South Africa’s regional conflicts of destabilisation, particularly in Angola and Mozambique.
Other countries like Ghana, Nigeria, Algeria and Ethiopia also supported the South African liberation struggle.
While everyone agrees that illegal immigration must be addressed in South Africa and everywhere in the world, people are concerned about the inflammatory rhetoric inciting hatred, xenophobia, Afrophobia and ethnophobia against black Africans, not Asians, Indians and whites.
Vigilante groups are blaming immigrants for South Africa’s high rates of unemployment, crime (especially drug trafficking), social service delivery failures, and social decay, while ignoring the root causes of the crisis, especially the legacy of apartheid, inequalities, structural rigidities and systemic bad governance and
corruption.
It has now become clear March and March, which is xenophobic, Afrophobic and ethnophobic, is an MK proxy or front organisation formed to push an anti-immigrants agenda to secure votes for Zuma's party.
The party is demanding (on this video) that all foreigners - whether legal or illegal - must leave South Africa by June 30.
Analysts widely view this as a populist electioneering strategy to leverage anti-foreigner sentiment for votes.
MK Party Secretary-General Sibonelo Nomvalo has confirmed his party supports March and March, which is behind the current chaos; intimidation, violence and lawlessness.
MK members — often clad in party regalia and wielding shields or Zuma cut-outs — have previously joined March and March protests.
Civil rights experts and researchers link these radical anti-immigrant protests directly to political maneuvering.
By blaming foreign nationals for deteriorating social services, the MK Party is angling to win over frustrated voters ahead of local government elections.
With vigilante groups issuing June 30 ultimatums for migrants to leave, Acting Police Minister Firoz Cachalia and Defence Minister Angie Motshekga, as well as ANC Secretary-General Fikile Mbalula
have warned that the state will not tolerate intimidation, vigilantism, or the disruption of law and order.
President Cyril Ramaphosa has outlined government's position on the issue, saying while they are addressing the issue of illegal migration, no one should take the law into their own hands through vigilantism and violence.
To further demonstrate his unprincipled politics, Zuma now support Morocco's sovereignty over Western Sahara after getting money for his party and survival from that country, which is still colonising the neighbouring territory.
This stance marks a sharp reversal from his historical support for the Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic during his tenure as South Africa's president.
In mid-July 2025, Zuma embarked on a diplomatic visit to Morocco where he was photographed with Moroccan foreign ministry officials besides the South African national flag.
Critics have widely lambasted Zuma's about-turn, accusing him of political opportunism and abandoning South Africa and the African Union's long-standing position on Sahrawi self-determination.
“Jealousy Mawarire is being consistent. Elections were due then”.
🔹Zanu PF stole the presidency from Morgan Tsvangirai in 2008, (an illegality a constitutional breach)
🔹The GNU was even favouring Zanu PF allowing a shared leadership when Zanu PF could have just been an opposition party.
🔹Articles IV, VII & XIX bound the parties to commit to the SADC Principles and Guidelines Governing Democratic Elections. Required the institutional restructuring of ZEC to ensure independence, alongside the overhaul of the voters' roll prior to any vote. Enforced commitments to media and legislative reform, opening up the airwaves and amending repressive security legislation to level the playing field before elections. (All this was legal)
🔹To avoid committing to the above reforms, Mugabe asked Jealousy Mawarire to theatrically challenge him to hold elections.
🔹Mugabe is dead now, he will not suffer the effects of an unreformed system Jealousy is.
🔹Parading him as a stickler for the constitution is laziness, 2013 was never about that but avoiding levelling the playing field.
@ntsikimazwai Emotional Intelligence is critical for leaders . A true leader is expected to keep their emotions in check and maintain a professional demeanor. A circus indeed.
@SedikoR No I understand that, but this was a joint press conference where 36 civic organizations were being represented. I do not think that the journalist was saying that Jacinta said this in her personal capacity but as a representative of the collective.
@JacintaNgobese
Thank you for acknowledging that the statement made about "perishing" foreigners is dangerous because it is. I hope the message will be conveyed to your associate who indeed made that remark.
SAns Jacinta Ngobese dealing with Journalists who always write false narrative about March and March, This is how we must deal with these people including EFF cult whow push propaganda in South African.🙌🏾🙌🏾🙌🏾😩😩😩😭😭😭😭😭😭
@__Malebo@deputyneighbor@MDNnewss@Hoerang26 No certainly not. But was the question directed to Jacinta in her individual capacity or to the joint civic organizations that had called for a press conference. Unless you are saying Mr Mchunu is or was not part of those organizations.
@KwandeZN March and March called for a joint media briefing with joint civic organizations of which Mr Mchunu is part of. The question was not directed to Jacinta as an individual. Now do you understand?