President Cyril Ramaphosa met with two of the country's most prominent anti-immigration activists, Nkosikhona Ndabandaba and Ngizwe Mchunu
President Cyril Ramaphosa met with two of the country's most prominent anti-immigration activists, Nkosikhona Ndabandaba and Ngizwe Mchunu, in the hours before nationwide community demonstrations were set to proceed, in what appeared to be a last push for dialogue between the Presidency and grassroots movement leaders.
Ndabandaba, popularly known by his moniker Phakel'umthakathi and who leads the Insizwa Ngobunsizwa Development Foundation, has emerged over recent months as one of the most recognisable faces of the anti-immigration campaign that has swept through KwaZulu-Natal, Gauteng and the Eastern Cape.
Alongside him, Mchunu, a former radio personality and leader of the Amabhinca Nation movement, has co-led marches calling for tougher enforcement against undocumented migrants. Both men were received by the President as part of efforts to engage directly with figures at the centre of the protest movement, rather than address grievances solely through public statements or law enforcement warnings.
The meetings came as organisers prepared for planned demonstrations, with the Presidency framing the engagement as an attempt to promote peaceful civic dialogue and de-escalate tensions that have built up over weeks of marches, some of which have turned violent or fatal.
