"We Were Used": Ngizwe Mchunu Speaks on Bitter March and March Fallout

• Ngizwe Mchunu claims that Jacinta Ngobese-Zuma used him and Phakelumthakathi Ndabandaba to build the March and March Movement
• Mchunu says that once the movement gained national momentum, the pair were discarded without recognition
• Despite the bitter fallout, Mchunu has not fully closed the door on a future reconciliation

SOUTH AFRICA - Ngizwe Mchunu has broken his silence on his falling out with the March and March Movement, claiming that he and fellow activist Phakelumthakathi Ndabandaba were deliberately recruited, used to grow the anti-illegal immigration movement, and then cast aside once their work was done.

In a video shared by journalist Sihle Mavuso, Mchunu said the movement approached him with an appeal to join their cause. He alleges that it was only after he and Ndabandaba came on board that the campaign gained real traction across the country.

Mchunu compares betrayal to a discarded ladder

To describe how he felt about the experience, Mchunu reached for a vivid analogy. He said the situation was like someone using a ladder to climb to a rooftop and then kicking it away once they no longer needed it. In his words, that was the deepest betrayal of them all.

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"I can say Phakelumthakathi and I were used. She begged us to join March and March," Mchunu said.

He added that it was he who convinced Ndabandaba to get involved, and that the whole of South Africa was shaken only after the two of them joined the movement.

Mchunu made clear that he did not appreciate being sidelined by people he described as newcomers to activism, saying he had been in the space far too long to be treated that way.

Door left open despite the fallout

Despite the sharp criticism directed at Jacinta Ngobese-Zuma and the March and March leadership, Mchunu stopped short of burning bridges entirely. He has not completely ruled out the possibility of reconciliation at some point in the future, suggesting the situation may still have room to evolve.

View video here:

Social media reacted to Mchunu's comments

@ShweleNgelosi wrote:

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"They willingly joined the movement that has already started, how was he used"

@RamailaSimon1 said:

"She never used anyone, the only problem is that people when they gain fame they start eating foreign monies"

@RamafaloMoses noted:

"Ngizwe went to support March and March voluntarily when Jacinta was fighting space at school for SA kids"

@Sabza200BC added:

"He must speak for himself, and not include Phakelumthakathi in that view because Phakelumthakathi never said such, and working well with Jacinta"

@Ronaldd1152 observed:

"The enemies and the haters of CIC Julius Malema are now fighting each other. Pakela vs Nhlahla Lux, Ngizwe vs Jacinta"

Ngizwe and Phakelumthakathi meet after March and March fall-out

Briefly News also reported that Ngizwe Mchunu and Nkosikhona "Phakel'umthakathi" Ndabandaba have held a face-to-face meeting. The pair met on Thursday night, 7 August 2026, following weeks of public friction. The meeting follows a messy breakdown within the March and March movement, which was organising demonstrations against undocumented foreign nationals. Videos of the meeting wer widely shared on social media, revealing bith men in jovial spirits.

Source: Briefly News