By Mapaballo Borotho
- Herman Mashaba says ongoing protests in Johannesburg are meant to pressure the government to act against illegal immigration.
- He warns that failure to act could fuel public anger and possible xenophobic violence.
- Meanwhile, foreign missions have urged their citizens to stay safe and avoid protest-affected areas.
Herman Mashaba says South Africans will not sit back and watch their country being taken over by foreign criminal syndicates.
The ActionSA president says the protests taking place in Johannesburg are aimed at pressuring the South African government to act against illegal immigration.
He says failure to hold such demonstrations could fuel more incidents of public anger and possible xenophobic violence.
Over the past few days, videos have circulated showing violence on the streets of Johannesburg and KwaZulu-Natal, with claims that South Africans are attacking other Africans.
On Wednesday, 29 April 2026, the March and March movement and ActionSA took to the streets to protest against foreign nationals who are reportedly taking over parts of the country’s economy.
During the protest in the Joburg CBD, some protesters were seen chasing street vendors who had been selling fruit and vegetables in the area.
However, Mashaba clarified that the march is not against foreign nationals who are legally in South Africa, but those who are undocumented.
He claims some undocumented foreign nationals are linked to crimes including hijackings and kidnappings.
He further said South Africa already has enough social and economic problems of its own.
Mashaba says his party has been calling on government to address illegal immigration for years, but now believes “enough is enough.”
“We are calling on the government to get all illegal and undocumented foreign nationals out of our country. We have enough of our own problems, and we have been asking them nicely for a long time. They must leave so that South Africans can fix their own problems,” said Mashaba.
He added that they will not sit back and watch criminal syndicates take over South Africa.
“If our government had done something about this 20 years ago, we wouldn’t be facing this problem,” he said.
Meanwhile, the Embassy of Zimbabwe in South Africa and the Nigerians in Diaspora Commission have called on their citizens to remain vigilant and avoid areas where demonstrations are taking place.
They have also been urged to stay indoors and limit unplanned movement.
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