AmaZulu King Misuzulu kaZwelithi has appealed to his subjects to keep planned anti-foreigner marches on 30 June peaceful, urging restraint even as community leaders across eThekwini reiterated demands that undocumented foreign nationals leave South Africa.
The king’s message was delivered on Friday through the leader of the Zulu royal regiments, Sipho Mhlongo, at a media briefing in Mayville, Durban, where he addressed amabutho (Zulu royal regiments), izinduna (headmen) and amakhosi (chiefs). According to Mhlongo, the king has instructed traditional leaders and royal structures to ensure that no foreign nationals are harmed during the protests.
AmaZulu King Misuzulu kaZwelithi has asked the royal regiments and chiefs to prevent “foreign nationals from being harmed or beaten” on 30 June, Mhlongo said, framing the king’s intervention as a call for discipline at a time of heightened tension ahead of the demonstrations.
“The king said he knows there is a march planned for 30 June and that he is not stopping anyone from marching because it is a constitutional right,” Mhlongo said.
“He also knows the nation is aggrieved about many things. He is not against the march and knows that people who are in South Africa illegally should return home.
“He only asks for one thing: that we prevent foreign nationals from being harmed or beaten. No one should be seen taking cabbage from hawkers, looting stores, or stealing.”
Mhlongo’s remarks come against the backdrop of the anti-immigrant movement March and March, which has set 30 June as the date by which it wants undocumented foreigners to leave the country. The proximity of that so-called deadline has intensified anxiety, particularly following violence that preceded it and resulted in the deaths of two Mozambican men and a Malawian. Those killings, and the rhetoric around 30 June, have fuelled fear and uncertainty nationwide.
The meeting in Durban also followed a direct plea issued by the king earlier in the week, when he called on the Zulu nation to show compassion to migrants and to reject violence.
“I am asking you, Zulu nation, nation of the mighty iLembe, let there be no bloodshed. Do not beat these people up. They are here because they are poor. We are also poor; we will be poor together.
“It does not mean that we must beat them up.”
Mhlongo, speaking on Friday, sought to anchor the king’s position in the Constitution while also acknowledging the anger he said many people feel. In doing so, he delivered a message that blended restraint with a firm demand that foreign nationals should leave — a tone that, as he presented it, was more overtly hostile than the king’s earlier appeal.
Mhlongo said the king’s core message was that foreigners must leave the country peacefully, and that any attempt to force the issue through intimidation or violence would undermine the purpose of the march and drag communities into criminality.
“There must not be a situation where people cannot go home because we have destroyed the roads, or where they are in hiding because we want to beat them,” Mhlongo added.
“No, they should leave in peace. No one is going to do something wrong on that day.”
He also reminded those present that the late King Goodwill Zwelithini had previously made a similar appeal about people returning to their countries of origin, linking it to concerns about population pressure in KwaZulu-Natal.
“He said no one is homeless, everyone has a home, and when it is time to return home, they should leave. The province is overpopulated. We also want to be able to breathe.”
Mhlongo reinforced the king’s warning that violence could rebound on South Africans living or travelling elsewhere in the region and beyond, arguing that attacks on foreign nationals could place South Africans at risk outside the country.
If we beat them up, they will do the same in their countries. They will kill you. Don’t do anything to them.
Even so, he reiterated a demand that foreign nationals leave, casting the issue in territorial and resource terms, and warning against what he portrayed as lawlessness.
He added: “But we still say: they must leave.
“This is our province. It has our wealth, resources, and our inheritance as the Zulu nation. We must defend it. We must not allow people to do as they please.”
With mass protests expected on Tuesday, particularly in KwaZulu-Natal, Mhlongo urged those mobilising for 30 June to avoid any conduct that could be construed as opportunistic criminality — from theft to violence to damage to infrastructure — and warned that such actions would tarnish the reputation of the Zulu nation.
“To those who are mischievous: the 30th is not for that. It’s not for stealing, looting, beating people up, burning infrastructure, or killing people. Don’t do even the smallest thing that will bring us into disrepute as the Zulu nation, because the way the narrative has been framed is that it’s the Zulu nation that is chasing people away. That’s not true.”
The role of the amabutho, he noted, is historically tied to protecting the Zulu throne. Organised by age, they perform amaHubo (praise songs) at royal events and accompany the monarch as an expression of loyalty and cultural heritage. While once revered as the military wing of the Zulu kingdom, their function today is largely ceremonial.
Still, coordinators from around eThekwini said they would convene community meetings to communicate the king’s message and to discourage violence during the protests.
“We will tell our people that the 30th is not war,” said Dunlop Xulu, a regional coordinator.
“It’s to allow foreign nationals to return to their home countries. We also don’t want blood to be spilt on the day. People must go to work because it’s not a public holiday.”
Mboneni Ngobese from uMzinyathi undertook to “make sure that we pass on the king’s call for peace”.
Thembelani Bhengu from the Harry Gwala District said the Zulu nation should not be blamed for disruptions caused by what he called rogue elements, and argued that March and March leaders also had a responsibility to lower the temperature.
“The leaders of March and March should also be told to call for restraint, because if someone is beaten on the day, people will blame the Zulu nation, just like how they are saying it’s the Zulu nation that was chasing people away.”
Within the royal family, concerns were raised about immigration enforcement and the broader economic climate. Prince Qhaphelani Zulu complained that immigration legislation was not being implemented.
“We all know how much the influx of foreign nationals in South Africa has killed our economy. The king cannot keep quiet while his people suffer.”
He also pointed to social media content that he said was inflaming tensions, including images of people posing with weapons.
He noted that some people on social media had been photographed wielding spears, claiming they were “ready”, behaviour he said was fuelling unrest.
“We are also seeing foreign nationals who are refusing to leave; they are provoking us.
“We are asking nicely that on 30 June, we must march in peace.”
Senior royal family member Prince Vanana Zulu offered a domestic analogy to describe frustrations around non-compliance with calls to leave.
“It’s shameful to have guests in your home that don’t want to leave when you want to go to sleep.”
He also reminded those present that the gathering was not a political mobilisation, but a traditional duty linked to safeguarding the monarchy.
“You are here because you are protecting the throne,” he said.
“The king says it does not matter if they provoke you. Your duty is to protect the monarch, because what happens to your kind is as good as happening to you.”
As 30 June approaches, the king’s appeal — relayed through traditional structures and echoed by regional coordinators — attempts to strike a careful balance: recognising protest as a constitutional right, demanding that undocumented foreigners leave, and insisting that the day must not become a trigger for violence, looting or retribution.
