"Not Backing Down": Jacinta Ngobese-Zuma Launches Weekly March and March Protests in uMthwalume

• March and March leader Jacinta Ngobese-Zuma launched weekly Thursday marches in uMthwalume, KZN, to pressure the government on undocumented foreign nationals
• Ngobese-Zuma said the rural community raised concerns about local tuck shops run by foreigners and claims that police were protecting them
• Supporters praised her consistency online, saying the movement needed to build the same pressure seen during the 30 June national march

KWAZULU-NATAL - Jacinta Ngobese-Zuma, leader of the March and March movement, launched a series of weekly Thursday protests in uMthwalume, KwaZulu-Natal, on 9 July 2026, signalling that her movement had no intention of slowing down.

The launch in the rural coastal community was deliberate. Residents there had raised specific concerns about foreign nationals running local tuck shops and allegations that police were shielding them from accountability.

Ngobese-Zuma speaks during the protest

Ngobese-Zuma said the decision to take the marches into rural areas was about making sure those community voices were not left out of the conversation.

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Explaining the purpose of the weekly marches, she said the movement needed to maintain pressure on the government.

"We have to keep up the consistency and build up the momentum for the government to hear that the concerns still stand about undocumented foreign nationals," she said.

Ngobese-Zuma also addressed critics who have labelled the movement xenophobic, and she was direct in her response.

"We are tired of explaining ourselves now. It's been over a year where we have been explaining the same thing," she said.

The March and March movement has been one of the most vocal civil pressure groups on the issue of undocumented immigration in South Africa, drawing both significant public support and fierce criticism.

View video here:

Mzansi reacts to the weekly launch

Supporters of the movement were vocal online following the uMthwalume launch:

@T_Abmorema said:

"I like Jacinta because she's consistent. Our government often acts like it's listening, but then fails to follow through on enforcing the law. That's why consistent public pressure is needed. We need to build the same level of pressure we saw on June 30."

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@Dzungie007 wrote:

"Every Thursday until government acts? That's commitment. I respect the consistency though. They said they're not backing down and they meant it."

@NgizweUpdates added:

"These people are tired of being ignored. Ngeke, silence from leaders is a choice. When will they listen?"

@NdebelePre22070 said:

"Thank you Jacinta. God sent you for us."

@MshenguSinoxolo wrote:

"Until we win ✊🏾"

March and March gives government a three month deadline

Briefly News reported that Jacinta Ngobese-Zuma said March and March would hold weekly protests over the next three months. However, she warned that if the government failed to respond to their demands, the movement would organise what she called a "real" national shutdown.Before the nationwide demonstrations, Ngobese-Zuma repeatedly said the movement had never announced 30 June as a national shutdown.

Source: Briefly News