WATCH | ‘No one will shut down South Africa,’ says Minister Khumbudzo Ntshavheni

Khumbudzo Ntshavheni

Cape Town – Minister in the Presidency Khumbudzo Ntshavheni has dismissed claims that South Africa will face a nationwide shutdown linked to anti-illegal-immigration protests, saying the government will not allow such action.

Speaking during a post-Cabinet briefing on Friday, Ntshavheni said: “As we have indicated before, there is nobody who’s going to do a shutdown of this country and we must be very clear about that.”

Her comments come amid growing protests over illegal immigration and reports that some foreign nationals, particularly from Mozambique, have left South Africa over fears of violence and a planned shutdown later this month.

Ntshavheni stressed that while citizens have a constitutional right to protest, they must not resort to vigilantism.

“South Africans have the right to protest and they can march as provided by the Constitution. But South Africans have no right to take the law into their own hands,” she said.

She added that the government is developing measures to address migration challenges and announced that President Cyril Ramaphosa will soon address the nation to outline a new government plan for managing immigration. No date has yet been announced for the address.

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