South African anti-migrant movement March and March has set September 30, 2026, as a new deadline for undocumented foreign nationals to leave the country, amid renewed tensions over migration.
Gatekeepers News reports that the group announced the deadline during a demonstration themed “It’s time to fetch your people”, where it called on leaders attending the Southern African Development Community (SADC) summit to prepare for what it described as the mass deportation of undocumented foreign nationals.
The SADC summit, which is being held in South Africa, brings together leaders from 16 member states, including Nigeria, Angola, Botswana, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Eswatini, Lesotho, Malawi, Mozambique, Namibia, Seychelles, Tanzania, Zambia and Zimbabwe.
Sandile Dube, spokesperson for March and March, said the group would picket outside the summit and urged the leaders to take action over undocumented migration.
Dube said the movement was in a stronger position than it was during its June 30 protest and vowed to organise what it called the “mother of all National Day of Action” demonstrations against undocumented foreign nationals.
The group also urged South Africans to report criminal activities in their communities to the South African Police Service and other law-enforcement agencies.
The latest demand follows protests that took place across South Africa on June 30, when citizen-led groups and minor political organisations called for undocumented foreign nationals to leave the country. The protests heightened concerns about possible looting and xenophobic violence, with four people reportedly killed during the unrest.
South African President Cyril Ramaphosa, however, has criticised discrimination against foreigners, saying the country should be “deeply ashamed” of the mistreatment of nationals from other countries.
Speaking at a public lecture at the University of KwaZulu-Natal in Durban on Friday, Ramaphosa said South Africa could not pursue stronger regional integration while people from neighbouring countries were subjected to discrimination, intimidation and violence.
The renewed tensions come after immigration-related pressure escalated in South Africa from April, prompting several African countries to arrange the repatriation of their nationals.
South African authorities have said more than 100,000 foreign nationals have been deported and that about $35 million was spent on the security operation.
The latest deadline announced by March and March is not a government-issued deportation deadline but a demand from the anti-migrant movement.
