"South Africans Are Not a Priority": Jacinta Ngobese-Zuma Slams Government Over Ekurhuleni Killings

• March and March Movement leader Jacinta Ngobese-Zuma staged an anti-GBV picket outside Durban Central Police Station amid the Ekurhuleni killings
• Ngobese-Zuma made a bold claim that the murders of women found across Gauteng are not only GBV cases but deliberate acts
• Her remarks drew sharp reactions on social media, with some backing her stance and others accusing her of politicising the killings

KWAZULU-NATAL — Jacinta Ngobese-Zuma, leader of the March and March Movement, has accused the South African government of failing its own citizens, claiming that had the women found murdered across Gauteng been foreign nationals, authorities would have responded with far greater urgency.

Ngobese-Zuma made the remarks during an anti-GBV picket held outside the Durban Central Police Station.

"Our government has shown us numerous times that if you are South African, you are not a priority," she said,

adding that the state appeared more preoccupied with its international image than with the safety of its own people.

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Killings described as deliberate acts

Going further than a GBV framing, Ngobese-Zuma described the ongoing killings as targeted and intentional, not simply cases of gender-based violence. Her comments came after the body of a ninth woman was discovered in Dawn Park, Boksburg, in the Ekurhuleni area of Gauteng.

See video here:

Social media divided on her claims

Her remarks sparked debate online, with reactions split between those who agreed with her analysis and those who felt she was exploiting a tragedy for political purposes.

@kwandiwe97 wrote:

"South African government does not care about its citizens. She is 100% correct."

@Stayela206 added:

"Jacinta is telling the truth. Let's be honest. if the victims were foreign nationals, the outrage machine would be in overdrive."

@AsandaVilakazi9 called for more direct action:

"Very much correct! Petitions are not gonna do now we need to fill the streets. Union buildings and Parliament now!"

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However, not all responses were supportive.

@Sethkay1300 wrote:

"This lady should stop trying to politicize everything. She has a huge following but she misleads it. The issue of crime — GBV or femicide has been here happening for long not in any has gvt protected foreign."

@Shepard18810398 pushed back more forcefully:

"No man, how do killings become about which nationality the person was from for action to happen, that's a twisted view. The pain is real and more so for the families of the victims, you can't compartmentalize or politicise, not now."

SA government speaks out on the Ekurhuleni killings

Previously, Briefly News reported that President Cyril Ramaphosa finally spoke out about the killings of multiple women in and around Kempton Park, Gauteng. The statement came after days of growing outrage, with South Africans questioning the apparent silence from the Presidency following the string of disturbing discoveries. Ramaphosa said he spoke for all South Africans as he extended his condolences to the families and communities touched by the tragedy.

Source: Briefly News