Local Informal Traders Negatively Impacted by Anti-Illegal Immigration March

VEREENIGING, GAUTENG—While some members of the community showed support for the anti-illegal-immigration march the uMkhonto weSizwe (MK) Party held in Vereeniging, Gauteng on 21 May 2026, local traders said their businesses came to a standstill.

Briefly News spoke to informal traders in Vereeniging who could not purchase stock for their businesses while the Department of Labour conducted inspections. One woman, who did not want to be named, walked out of a cash-and-carry that had been inspected. As she walked out, members of the party tried to stop her and asked if she worked there. She retorted that she did not and muttered a few words under her breath.

Local traders affected

When Briefly News approached her about her frustrations, she angrily said she had to leave the shop while purchasing stock for her business. She added that she relied on the business to feed her family, and while she supported implementing bylaws, she felt conflicted as she relied on the shop to stock up.

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Another informal trader who accompanied her also said she did not know when she would be able to stock, as she suspected the shops would be closed. Briefly News also spoke to a woman employed in town. The shop she is employed in was closed due to the march, and she said she feared she may lose her job and her only means of feeding her children.

Undocumented foreigners arrested

Similarly, Briefly News reported that undocumented foreign nationals who wanted to give the police a slip were arrested at the same march. It was a flurry of action as they tried unconventional escape methods, which ended with them in cuffs.

Source: Briefly News