March and March Tells SADC Leaders to Take Undocumented Nationals Home During Durban Protest
- March and March staged demonstrations in KwaZulu-Natal during the Southern African Development Community Summit
- One member held up a sign indicating exactly what the movement wanted regional heads of State to do regarding illegal immigration
- The SADC Summit is the annual meeting of heads of State and government of a 16-member regional intergovernmental body
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Byron Pillay, a Briefly News journalist, has dedicated a decade to reporting on the South African political landscape, crime, and social issues. He worked as a newspaper journalist for 10 years before transitioning to online.
KWAZULU-NATAL - Anti-illegal immigration group March and March has called on leaders of fellow African countries to fetch their people from South Africa.
Members of the movement made the call outside the Southern African Development Community Summit in Durban on 17 August 2026. March and March staged a protest outside the Inkosi Albert Luthuli International Convention Centre, where regional heads of State were gathered for the summit.
The SADC Summit is the annual meeting of heads of State and government of a 16-member regional intergovernmental body whose mandate includes economic integration, peace and security, and poverty alleviation across southern Africa.
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March and March's message to SADC leaders
Speaking about the protest, activist Teresa Nortjie held up a handwritten cardboard sign in red lettering reading, 'come fetch your people'. Speaking directly to camera, Nortjie articulated the group's position in plain terms.
"March and March’s statement today says, 'Come fetch your people'. We are gatvol. Meaning that we are gatvol of illegal undocumented foreign nationals roaming around in South Africa, and nothing gets done about that," she said.
Nortjie called on delegates attending the summit to act, urging them to fetch their people and take them back home.
“We had enough," Nortjie exclaimed.
March and March has held numerous demonstrations across the country, calling for undocumented foreign nationals to leave. The movement gave people a deadline of 30 June 2026 to leave South Africa, prompting a wave of departures.
President Cyril Ramaphosa also addressed the recent demonstrations in South Africa against undocumented foreign nationals during one of his SADC speeches.
Ramaphosa insists that South Africans aren't xenophobic
Briefly News reported that President Cyril Ramaphosa weighed in on the recent tensions in South Africa between locals and foreign nationals.
The president insisted that South Africans were not xenophobic, saying that they wanted to live together with other Africans in the country.
South Africans weighed in on Ramaphosa's statement, sharing mixed reactions to his view on the actions of citizens.
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Source: Briefly News
