South African Police Minister Issues Stern Warning to Anti-Immigrant Protestors, Jacinta Claps Back
- The South African government warned anti-immigrant protestors against violence on June 30 in an address by Acting Police Minister Firoz Cachalia
- According to the authorities, R600m had been allocated for police response on the day, and the military was being held in check for a possible response
- March and March's Jacinta Ngobese-Zuma challenged the government's warning, tagging it a case of misplaced priorities
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Jacinta Ngobese-Zuma has fired back after the South African government issued a stern warning to anti-immigrant activists ahead of their planned June 30 protest.
Source: Facebook
The March and March movement leader has risen to prominence in South Africa and across the continent in recent months.
She has been at the forefront of the anti-immigration movement that has taken over several cities in the country on marches calling for the expulsion of illegal foreign nationals.
While claiming that they are targeting illegal immigrants for overburdening South African society and stealing jobs from nationals, the movement has faced criticism for being xenophobic and for some marches descending into violence.
Amid the controversy, March and March and other anti-immigrant groups have set a deadline of June 30 for all illegals to leave South Africa, although critics have noted they make no distinction between legal and illegal migrants, particularly those hailing from neighbouring African countries.
South African government warns Jacinta and colleagues
Ahead of the planned march, the South African government issued a dire warning to the leaders of the protest movement.
Acting Police Minister Firoz Cachalia stated that while authorities recognise the right to protest, they were not going to tolerate lawlessness, violence, or destruction of property.
Cachalia warned that if things were to get out of hand, additional reinforcements would be sought to ensure order is maintained.
"Should the operational environment require additional capacity, SAPS may request the support of the South African National Defence Force to augment existing policing capacity,” he said.
“We acknowledge that many South Africans have genuine concerns about issues affecting our country. Government hears those concerns. However, those concerns must always be expressed lawfully,” he added.
The Facebook post with details of the Acting Police Minister Firoz Cachalia's statement is below.
Jacinta Ngobeze-Zuma addresses June 30 warning
The minister's comments irritated the March and March leader, who clapped back that the government had misplaced priorities by warning the protestors instead of looking into how to deal with the illegal migration problem.
“The one thing I'm not understanding is why the government of South Africa is not addressing the real issue, which is the illegal immigration crisis and foreign nationals who are buying documents and corruptly getting onto the system.
"If you feel like threatening anyone, threaten the illegal immigrants who are in the country illegally. Threaten your own officials who are selling off documents. Threaten government officials who haven't been doing their job,” she added.
Cachalia also said the government had set aside R600m to finance the needed police response, sparking further criticism from Jacinta Ngobese-Zuma.
Below is a Facebook post with details of Jacinta's response to the South African government.
Source: Instagram
Jacinta banned on TikTok
Previously, YEN.com.gh reported that Jacinta Ngobese-Zuma announced on June 19, 2026, that her TikTok account had been banned.
Jacinta shared the news in a video, noting that the account with over 378,000 followers and over 3.1 million likes had been taken down.
Source: YEN.com.gh
