March and March (also styled March & March) is a South African civic/advocacy movement focused on stricter immigration enforcement, primarily active in Durban (KwaZulu-Natal), with no widely reported specific march scheduled for 8 September 2026.
September 8, 2026, falls on a Tuesday. The group’s ongoing pattern involves weekly Thursday marches in Durban as “rolling mass action,” announced after major nationwide actions on 30 June 2026. The most recent notable Durban activity was on Thursday 3 September 2026 (with follow-up plans mentioned for the next day, Friday 4 September). The next regular Thursday would therefore be 10 September. Details for specific assembly points, times, and routes are often shared closer to the event via the group’s channels, local coordinators, or social media rather than major news outlets in advance.
Background on the movement
- Founded in March 2024 in Durban by Jacinta Ngobese-Zuma (a former radio personality). It is headquartered in Durban and operates as a crowdfunded civic organisation claiming tens of thousands of supporters.
- Core focus: stricter enforcement of immigration laws, deportation of undocumented migrants, prioritising South African citizens for jobs and services, crime linked to migration, and better border control (including calls for more funding and staff for the Border Management Authority). It uses the slogan Abahambe (“They must go”) and has informal associations or overlaps in messaging with groups like Operation Dudula.
- It organised large-scale actions around a 30 June 2026 “deadline” for undocumented migrants to leave, with protests in multiple cities (including a significant peaceful-to-large Durban march that day involving hundreds to over a thousand people, often starting at King Dinuzulu Park in Berea and moving through CBD areas such as Dr Pixley kaSeme Street toward points like the Point Police Station). A newer publicised deadline of 30 September 2026 followed, with calls for larger action if demands are unmet.
Recent Durban events (early September 2026)
On Thursday 3 September 2026, roughly 100 March and March members marched (with a police escort) from King Dinuzulu Park to a makeshift camp of around 400 documented refugees and asylum seekers (mainly from the DRC, Burundi, and Rwanda) outside the Department of Home Affairs refugee office on Che Guevara Road (also referred to as Moore Road) in Umbilo. The group described it as a “clean-up” operation targeting the long-standing encampment (refugees had been there for about 15 weeks after displacement amid earlier tensions).
Tensions escalated into clashes involving rock-throwing. Police used stun grenades, tear gas, and rubber bullets. Reports indicated injuries on both sides (March and March claimed around 10 members injured; refugees also reported injuries, with some hospitalised), an officer struck by a stone, and at least one foreign national arrested. Counter-groups such as the Siyafana Sonke Action Campaign (opposing xenophobia/Afrophobia) were present. Leader Jacinta Ngobese-Zuma and the group stated they would return (plans referenced for Friday 4 September), criticising authorities for not clearing the camp and alleging provocations or a firearm incident.
The refugees involved are described in reporting as documented/verified by Home Affairs and have sought protection amid broader anti-migrant pressures. Police presence is typically heavy at these events.
Broader context and implications
These actions form part of sustained pressure after the June 2026 nationwide protests. Critics and civil society organisations characterise some activities as xenophobic or Afrophobic and raise human-rights concerns about harassment of documented migrants and refugees. Supporters frame them as legitimate citizen-led responses to perceived state failures on borders, crime, service delivery, and undocumented migration. Isolated violence, business disruptions, and heavy policing have accompanied some events.
Exact plans can shift and are not always pre-announced in mainstream media. For the most current information on any 8 September (or nearby) activity, check official March and March channels, local Durban news, or police/municipal updates, as routes often impact CBD traffic and businesses may close along paths. Historical Durban patterns frequently involve gathering at parks (e.g., King Dinuzulu or Gugu Dlamini) and moving through central streets.
