On 30 June – ‘deadline day’ for the anti-migrant movement — the massive show of support for March and March as well as like-minded ‘dudula’ groups were mind-blowing to witness as they unfolded on the ground. But the fact that, on the eve of the much-vaunted shutdown, President Cyril Ramaphosa met with only two of the prominent figures – Nkosikhona Ndabandaba and Ngizwe Mchunu – leaving Jacinta Ngobese-Zuma finding out about the meeting the same way the rest of us did, namely via social media, raised a lot of questions.
Nkosikhona Ndabandaba meets with President Cyril Ramaphosa on the eve of the June 30 shutdown. Source: Nkosiikhona Phakel’umthakathi Ndabandaba Facebook page.
Was she sidelined from this this singularly high point in her activist career so that, in her absence, Ramaphosa could sweet-talk the hypermasculine duo into singing a different tune? Almost overnight, Ndabandaba abandoned the bare chest for a suit and tie, and started calling formal press briefings where he outlined some of the things his organisation would be embarking on in statesman-like fashion.
That said, the swarming protests leading up to the day of reckoning were unlike anything South Africa has experienced since the advent of democracy. The build-up was alarming enough to have Ramaphosa calling a family meeting on 7 June, with the acting Police Minister Firoz Cachalia announcing that his planned special operation would cost taxpayers around R600 million — and then, in a surprise last-minute move, meeting up with the aforementioned individuals. On this minute-to-midnight handshaking, Mondli Makhanya, former editor-at-large at City Press, has written:
‘It was an extraordinary development where these microwaved leaders gained access to the nation’s seat of power and were given legitimacy by the highest office in the land. …
‘Had [Ramaphosa] chosen to maintain the stance of not engaging with the ragtag army, and then see the country blow up, there would have been a lot of blowback against his arrogance and detachment.
‘But in buckling and letting the vandals into the inner sanctum, Ramaphosa inadvertently conceded that the government was dealing with a powerful force that was usurping its own role. This was a hugely symbolic moment. That was a major victory for them, and by the time 30 June dawned, they had a bounce in their step.’
Given this, it shouldn’t surprise anyone that, at a media briefing, Ndabandaba felt emboldened enough to state that one of his organisation’s first steps would be – in collaboration with municipalities – to identify hijacked buildings and to ensure that the occupiers were asked to leave.
Although both Mchunu and Ndabandaba had been vague on whether violence might occur on go-home day, they clearly commanded huge support, and the president meeting with them spoke to their perceived influence and invincibility.
Whatever assurances the duo would have given about their followers adhering to the nation’s laws, they were clearly not in a position to ensure this entirely. Marches and attendant activities had flared up across the country. The turnout was staggering, and – given people’s inflamed psssions – more or less impossible to control. But to great relief of many, most of the marches unfolded with little or no major incident.
There were reports of protesters taking the law into their own hands in Germiston. According to etv, the forced their way onto private property, evicted people who could not immediately produce their immigration papers, and handed them over to police.
Countless videos have surfaced of people being harassed. Daily Maverick also reported extensive looting in Durban’s KwaDabeka township. On 2 July, the acting National Police Commissioner, Puleng Dimpane, stated that some 900 people have been arrested, including illegal foreigners, looters, participants in public violence and those harbouring illegal immigrants.
In Alexandra, 21-year-old Siphesihle Mncemeleni was reportedly shot dead amid violence and looting. Looting and violence were also reported at Ekurhuleni.
A rift in the movement?
As for Ngobese-Zuma, on 30 June she addressed local marchers from a balcony at the Point police station in Durban. Her message was that until their demands were met (read: illegal foreign nationals have left), her organisation would continue to march every week.
When a journalist asked her whether she had been informed prior to Ramaphosa’s meeting with her collaborators, she seemed visibly upset, answering with a series of curt ‘no’s’. Top view the video clip on Facebook, click here.
Rather wildly, Ndabandaba has claimed that some two million foreign nationals have left the country, but this cannot be verified.
With the world’s glare fixed on how the state would respond to the situation, Ramaphosa has been placed in an inenviable position. Social media commentary sprung up around a sudden swarming of bots using the hashtag #Habahambe. It was pretty clear that the world’s eyes were fixed on South Africa, sworn enemies amongst them, monitoring the situation and South Afrca’s response to it.
International pressure aside, the president must also have been haunted by the spectre of Marikana 2.0. Have the mobs running amok, and the state would look as incapacitated as it did during the 2021 July riots. Respond brutally, and there’d be accusations about how this supposedly moral country can’t practice what it preaches to the rest of the world.
Local government elections
The emergence of the anti-migrant movement may have major implications for the local government elections, due in November this year. On a single ticket – that of anti-immigration – previously obscure figures have been catapulted to unbelievable heights, and drawn swathes of people onto the streets. Nowadays, even the most established political parties struggle to achieve this on a public holiday. They practically have to drive out to their followers just to get them to vote.
Imagine if this troika – Ngobese-Zuma, Ndabandaba and Mchunu – were to do go back on their assurances that they don’t want to enter politics, and register a political party. Now that would throw a spanner in the works.
FEATURED IMAGE: March and March leader Jacinta Ngobese-Zuma addresses marchers at the Point police station in Durban. (News24 on YouTube)