The Jacinta Ngobese-Zuma Ramaphosa row has pulled back the curtain on deep divisions inside South Africa’s anti-immigration movement.
Ngobese-Zuma, who leads the March and March movement, said she only found out about a meeting between President Cyril Ramaphosa and two fellow activists through social media. Speaking to journalists in Durban, as reported by IOL, she said she had no involvement in the discussions and was never told what was agreed.
The Presidency confirmed the meeting took place in Pretoria on 29 June 2026, a day before nationwide anti-immigration protests scheduled for 30 June. Presidential spokesperson Vincent Magwenya, quoted by YEN.com.gh, said Ramaphosa held talks with Ngizwe Mchunu of the Amabhinca Nation movement and Nkosikhona Ndabandaba, known as Phakel’umthakathi, of Insizwa Nobunsizwa. During the sit down, the President stressed that protesters had a right to demonstrate but were bound by the law to do so peacefully.
Ngobese-Zuma’s exclusion sits at the heart of the Jacinta Ngobese-Zuma Ramaphosa row. According to the Zambian Observer, when asked online why she was left out, she responded simply that she had just seen the news on social media and knew nothing about it.
The snub did not sit well with her. Speaking at the June 30 march in Durban, in comments carried by YEN.com.gh, she told reporters that Ramaphosa had repeatedly ignored her movement’s requests for a meeting while choosing to sit down with other anti-immigration leaders instead. She questioned why access had been granted to some and denied to her, at one point suggesting her surname may have played a part, given her marriage into the Zuma family.
Ndabandaba later moved to calm tensions. Speaking to protesters in Durban, as reported by YEN.com.gh, he denied claims that he had been turned against Ngobese-Zuma or financially compromised through the Pretoria meeting. He promised to give a fuller account of what was discussed with the President.
The Jacinta Ngobese-Zuma Ramaphosa row has since widened beyond the exclusion itself. Days later, Ngobese-Zuma clashed publicly with ANC secretary general Fikile Mbalula, after he shared a photograph linking her movement to the MK Party.
In remarks reported by IOL, she accused Mbalula of selective outrage, arguing that the criticism was driven by lingering suspicion of Jacob Zuma rather than genuine concern about her movement. She noted that March and March had also met other parties, including the DA, IFP, ActionSA and ATM, without facing the same scrutiny.
Repeating her frustration, Ngobese-Zuma again raised the Jacinta Ngobese-Zuma Ramaphosa row in that same exchange, telling IOL she had asked for a meeting with the President on several occasions but had received no response.
Beneath the public sparring, the wider dispute points to strain over who truly speaks for South Africa’s anti-immigration campaign. Joburg ETC reported that the movement has drawn in a patchwork of groups and personalities, from Insizwa Nobunsizwa to Amabhinca Nation, each with its own leadership style and approach to engaging government.
The Pretoria meeting, convened without March and March’s most visible face, has only sharpened questions about coordination and trust among the various factions. The Jacinta Ngobese-Zuma Ramaphosa row also highlights the growing competition for influence within South Africa’s anti-immigration movement.
For now, Ngobese-Zuma insists the movement she built from nothing will continue regardless of whether the President chooses to meet her. She has announced weekly Thursday protests and a fresh six month deadline for undocumented foreign nationals to leave the country, according to YEN.com.gh.
Whether the Jacinta Ngobese-Zuma Ramaphosa row settles or deepens further will likely shape how government engages the broader movement in the months ahead, and whether its various leaders can present anything close to a united front.
