ANC CONDEMNS RAPE, MURDER THREATS AGAINST JACINTA - AS MARCH AND MARCH LEADER STANDS FIRM ON BORDER POLICY
By Mpho Dube, Editor-in-Chief
The Azanian | Truth. Fearless. Unfiltered.
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The African National Congress has condemned in the strongest terms the vile calls for the rape and murder of March and March leader Jacinta Ngobese-Zuma.
The party said there can never be a political, personal or ideological justification for calling for someone to be raped or killed, and confirmed it is investigating whether the man identified as Sello Lemonka Gemba, who made the remarks on social media, is a member of the ANC.
The condemnation follows a week in which Ngobese-Zuma has emerged as the most consistent and policy-driven voice in the immigration debate.
While Soweto and Durban burned and politicians scrambled for soundbites, the March and March leader was on the ground in Durban CBD this week calling for what her movement has demanded since June: Move refugee reception centres to the borders, as proposed in the 2024 White Paper.
Her demand is not new. It is not xenophobic. It is law.
It is exactly what then Minister Dr Aaron Motsoaledi proposed on 12 November 2023 when he said asylum cases must be heard at ports of entry like in the Netherlands, and exactly what Cabinet approved in April 2024. Jacinta Ngobese-Zuma is not inventing policy. She is demanding implementation.
That is why March and March has grown. From Pietermaritzburg on 19 June to Durban and Johannesburg this week, the movement has remained disciplined, peaceful, and led by women. No cars torched. No shops looted. Memorandums, not matches. Policy, not panic.
In images from Durban, Ngobese-Zuma is seen speaking calmly to police and protesters while heavily armed officers stand behind her. In Pietermaritzburg, she is seen leading from the front with a microphone, surrounded by supporters in white March and March regalia, traditional leaders and young mothers.She did not retreat after the threats.
On Tuesday, she walked into Durban Central Police Station and opened a case against Gemba. She posted on X that Gemba later indicated he stood by the remarks. She called on the public to join her when she opened the case. She showed up. Alone. No bodyguards. No drama.
"There is no politics in rape threats," a senior woman in March and March told The Azanian yesterday. "Jacinta speaks for spaza shop owners, for mothers who can't get clinic beds, for young people who can't get jobs. You can disagree with her. You cannot threaten to rape and kill her."
The ANC's statement is significant. The ruling party said the threats are vile and incompatible with ANC values, and said if Gemba is confirmed to be a member, its own internal processes will take course. The party also called on law enforcement to investigate.
That is the line between debate and criminality. South Africa is debating one of its most difficult questions: How does a country with 32% unemployment, a 200,000-case asylum backlog, and only 2,566 of 11,115 Border Management posts filled, manage immigration fairly and lawfully?
Jacinta Ngobese-Zuma has an answer: Enforce the White Paper. Move centres to borders. Count who is here. Repeal the 1949 Citizenship Act. One citizenship law. One fair system. That is the Motsoaledi plan that Cabinet already approved.
You can support it. You can oppose it. What you cannot do is threaten a woman with rape for saying it.
The threats against Ngobese-Zuma have now done what months of ignoring her could not: They have made her national. They have shown the difference between a movement that burns 11 cars and a movement led by a woman who walks into a police station with a case number and a policy document.
March and March has not torched a single car. Its leader has been threatened with rape and murder for demanding the law be implemented.
That is the story.
The Azanian stands against all threats of sexual violence against women in politics. We call on SAPS to investigate case opened at Durban Central, and on all parties to protect democratic debate.
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