Radio personality and founder of the March and March Movement, Jacinta Ngobese-Zuma, has opened up about the deep-rooted personal trauma behind her controversial anti-immigration stance, particularly her vocal opposition to Nigerians and other African immigrants in South Africa. In a video circulating widely online, Ngobese-Zuma admitted to being “a bitter person,” a sentiment she traces back to a painful childhood experience involving her mother and a fraudulent marriage to a Nigerian man. The incident, which unfolded when she was just 14, left a lasting emotional scar and shaped her views on immigration and identity in South Africa.
Ngobese-Zuma recounted how her mother, during a visit to the South African Department of Home Affairs (DHA), discovered she had been married to a Nigerian man she had never met. The revelation led to her mother breaking down in tears, as she realized her identity had been exploited and her surname was now linked to someone she did not know. This deception, she said, created a crisis of identity for her entire family, as they struggled with the legal and emotional consequences of a marriage that never truly existed.
The DHA advised her mother to file for divorce to clear her name, but the process carried a heavy cost. Ngobese-Zuma explained that divorce would mean the Nigerian man, whom she described as someone who “came all the way from Nigeria to steal her identity,” would be entitled to half of her mother’s assets. This, she argued, was a form of exploitation that preyed on vulnerable South Africans. She believes such incidents are not isolated, but part of a larger pattern of immigrants using fraudulent marriages to gain access to resources and citizenship.
She further accused male immigrants of shifting tactics, moving from fake marriages to buying off South African women for legal entry into the country. “They realised that stealing or faking marriages don’t work anymore,” she said, “so now they started buying off South African women to marry them, which is working quite well for them because of many levels of desperation.” This, she claims, reflects a broader exploitation of South African society by undocumented migrants.
Ngobese-Zuma’s March and March Movement continues to advocate for stricter border control, prioritization of citizens in access to jobs and services, and greater accountability in immigration policy. On Wednesday, she led a demonstration to the Gauteng Provincial Legislature, demanding decisive government action against criminal networks linked to undocumented migrants. At the rally, she declared, “We are tired of illegal immigrants taking over our spaces, overstretching our resources, and rendering us, in our own country, useless.” She emphasized that the time for negotiation is over and called for the return of national sovereignty.
Her words have sparked intense debate across South Africa, with supporters praising her for speaking truth to power and critics condemning her for stoking xenophobia. Regardless of the backlash, Ngobese-Zuma remains steadfast in her mission, driven by a childhood trauma that continues to influence her activism. As South Africa grapples with immigration and identity, her story underscores the complex emotional and social dimensions of the issue.
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