Anti-migration protesters marched through the city of Durban on Monday, demanding tougher action on undocumented migration into South Africa as regional leaders gathered for the 46th Southern African Development Community (SADC) Summit.
Footage shows police officers forming a line ahead of the advancing crowd, with protesters chanting as they carried South African flags and banners reading ‘it’s time to fetch your people’ and ‘we demand justice and protection.’
“We don’t have a government; we have cartoons. […] People who think they will rule forever, not knowing that when they die, their kids will still be living on this land they are trying to sell,” said March and March leader Jacinta Ngobese-Zuma.
“They are hoping to take their children overseas, but they keep sending them back home. So, the land they are slowly selling to the world is actually them selling themselves,” she asserted.
The rally follows months of anti-migration protests across South Africa. March and March was among groups that gave undocumented foreign nationals until June 30 to leave the country – an ultimatum the government rejected, saying it had no legal standing.
The protest took place as leaders from the 16-member regional bloc met in Durban, with migration among the issues on the agenda. South Africa had pushed for the subject to be addressed at the summit, alongside peace and security.
President Cyril Ramaphosa, who has condemned discrimination and mistreatment of foreign nationals, assumed SADC’s rotating chairship at the summit. His government has also called for an Africa-wide discussion on migration and the conditions driving people to leave their countries.
Source: Viory
