Nkosinathi 'Phakelumthakathi' Ndabandaba, left, leader of the Insizwa Ngobunsizwa Development Foundation, has clarified the organisation's stance on the June 30 deadline for undocumented foreigners to leave the country.
Image: Doctor Ngcobo / Independent Newspapers
As concern mounts across South Africa over an upcoming June 30 deadline set by anti-illegal immigration groups for undocumented migrants to leave the country, prominent activist Nkosikhona "Phakel’umthakathi" Ndabandaba has broken his silence, insisting that the day is "not an event" and will not involve violence, looting, or xenophobic riots.
Ndabandaba, leader of the Insizwa Ngobunsizwa Development Foundation which is working along March and March against illegal foreigners, spoke out to address rising fears that the fast-approaching June deadline could spark a wave of national unrest. He clarified that the date was never intended to be a flashpoint for forced removals, but rather a firm line in the sand to force a national dialogue and demand government intervention.
According to Ndabandaba, the six-month notice was originally issued on 7 December 2025, to allow undocumented individuals time to prepare.
"We are not suggesting that on the 30th, South Africans will demand that foreigners leave. We issued this date on the 7th of December 2022. We said we are giving you six months to plan yourself because we know they have families, they have investments here, they have everything here—but they are still illegal."
He emphasised that the ultimate goal of the deadline is to halt daily routines so citizens and leaders can address what he described as a border and security crisis. Ndabandaba stated that the organisation wants a direct sit-down with the country's highest structures to find a lasting legislative and law enforcement solution.
The group intends to hold discussions with President Cyril Ramaphosa, the Department of Home Affairs, Border Management Authority (BMA), South African National Defence Force (SANDF) and Navy and the South African Police Service (SAPS)
Ndabandaba highlighted porous land borders, unmonitored sea routes, and the influx of illicit or expired goods entering local communities as primary drivers of their grievances.
"Our kids are dying," Ndabandaba claimed, linking the illicit trade directly to public safety issues. "But we can't solve that when illegal immigrants are actively working somewhere and everything just carries on. We are saying let us stop everything and attend to this problem."
Addressing widespread panic among refugee communities and civil society groups, Ndabandaba strongly denied that the foundation or its followers would engage in vigilantism or criminal behaviour when the deadline arrives.
"There will be no riots. There will be no marches [on that day]. People mustn't expect us to say on that day people must be killed, shops must be looted, or there must be vandalism. No, we can't have a country like that," he stated. "Whoever subscribes to what we are doing must stay under the law and act within the parameters of the law."
While Ndabandaba acknowledged that undocumented foreign nationals will inevitably still be in South Africa past June 30, he maintained that the date serves to hold leaders accountable.
Ndabandaba's call for disciplined, lawful action mirrors statements made by Jacinta Ngobese-Zuma, leader of the March and March movement, during a media briefing on Monday. Ngobese-Zuma explicitly distanced her organization from recent opportunistic criminality and looting reported during protests in Bloemfontein.
"We saw the protests in Bloemfontein today, and we don't support that looting behaviour because it feeds exactly into the narrative of us being painted as vigilantes," Ngobese-Zuma said, calling on people in the Free State capital to refrain from targeting shops. "The one thing that we also do not agree with is violence. That's why we always keep our protests to be violent-free, and we encourage that very much."
Ngobese-Zuma also took aim at the state, urging the government to stop blaming her organization for every single demonstration that surfaces across the country, defending the wave of public demonstrations as a protected expression of democratic liberties.
"Some people are just marching on their own accord because they feel like it, and it's a community, and they have a right to do that," Ngobese-Zuma added.
"You can't stop people from marching on the streets because that's their constitutional right. If people are on the streets and they're protesting and there's no violence, there's nothing wrong that they're doing. The government must just accept it."
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