Meet Nkosikhona Ndabandaba, the Zulu cultural activist at the forefront of South Africa's anti immigrant campaign
Dressed in traditional Zulu attire and carrying the authority of a cultural figure with a large online following, Nkosikhona Ndabandaba, popularly known as Phakel’uMthakathi, has emerged as one of the most recognisable faces of South Africa’s growing anti immigrant movement.
With a background spanning journalism, traditional leadership and television, Ndabandaba has built a public image around Zulu identity, discipline and cultural revival. But his recent role in campaigns demanding the removal of undocumented migrants has made him one of the country’s most controversial activists.
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A widely shared video captured Ndabandaba approaching a man standing by the roadside and asking where he was from. After the man said he was Congolese, Ndabandaba responded: “30 June is the deadline, but it is not that you have to leave on 30 June. Leave now.”
