Ayanda Jacobs — Jacinta Ngobese-Zuma, founder and leader of the March and March movement, has accused undocumented migrants from Zimbabwe and Nigeria of becoming overly emboldened, saying some now behave “more South African than South Africans”.

Speaking to reporters on Monday, 25 May, Ngobese-Zuma said her organization had given the South African government until 30 June 2026 to provide a clear plan for handling illegal immigration.

“We are giving the government until the 30th of June to give us a map of how they are going to deal with the issue of illegal immigration,” she said.

While acknowledging that not everyone would leave, she urged those in the country illegally to depart voluntarily before the deadline.

“I don’t think any of us is stupid enough to think that all of them will be gone. Of course not. But we are encouraging them to go before the 30th of June, because what we know is that the kind of illegal immigrants that we have here think they’re more South African than South Africans,” Ngobese-Zuma stated.

She claimed some migrants from Nigeria and Zimbabwe react with hostility when reminded of their foreign status.

“If you remind them that they’re not [South Africans], they get very furious. They can even kill you if you remind them,” she said.

Ngobese-Zuma separated illegal migrants into two groups.

“There are two types of immigrants that we, we are dealing with. There are those that we know will self-deport, we know those. They’re, most of the time, just innocent people who are just coming here to just make a living, etc. And those will go. They’re not going to give much of a problem,” she explained.

The bigger concern, she said, was those determined to remain.

“But the ones that will stay are the ones that are the biggest problem. Those are the ones that require the intensity of the government. That requires the intensity of South Africans, and that’s why we’re going to intensify our pressure on the government.”

She dismissed the idea that anyone entering the country illegally could be considered innocent.

“There’s not a single innocent person who comes into our country illegally. There’s nothing innocent about that. So, they, they are just as much to blame as our government for coming into our country illegally,” she added.

Ngobese-Zuma also called on the South African government to engage other African states to facilitate the return of their citizens.

Her campaign has drawn public support from Zulu King Misuzulu kaZwelithini. Addressing the opening of the KwaZulu-Natal Legislature at Woodburn Rugby Stadium in Pietermaritzburg on 26 February 2026, the King described her as “a great young woman from this province” and commended the movement for “being in the fight against foreigners”.