March and March founder Jacinta Ngobese-Zuma has challenged the Somali community to take its fight over the continued closure of Somali-owned spaza shops to court, declaring that the anti-illegal immigration movement will not be intimidated or distracted by the threat of legal action.
Her remarks follow an official statement by the Somali Community Service Gauteng, which says its members are being unfairly targeted by ongoing spaza shop closures and is demanding that authorities provide clarity on the legal grounds for the enforcement measures.
“We’ve noted their letter and we encourage them to go to Court. We’ll meet them there and they must know, we’re not backing down in our fight,” Ngobese-Zuma told Africa Daily.
She went further, making it clear that a possible court challenge would not cause March and March to retreat from its campaign.
“We are not going to be distracted or shaken by their theatrics,” she said.
The confrontation brings into sharper focus one of South Africa’s most contentious issues in 2026, the enforcement of immigration laws and the increasingly heated debate over undocumented foreign nationals operating businesses in the country.
In a statement dated 24 August 2026, the Somali Community Service Gauteng said the continued closure of spaza shops belonging to members of the Somali community was having a serious impact on livelihoods.
“We, the Somali community in South Africa, are deeply concerned about the continued closure of spaza shops belonging to members of our community. These actions are having a serious impact on the livelihoods of our members. Many are no longer able to operate profitably, while others feel unsafe and believe they are being unfairly targeted,” the statement reads.
The organisation said it supports the enforcement of South African law but insists that enforcement must be lawful and equally applied.
“We respect the laws of South Africa and support lawful enforcement. However, we believe that every business owner must be treated fairly and that enforcement actions must be based on clear legal grounds and carried out in accordance with due process,” it said.
The community is demanding clarity on exactly why the businesses have been closed and what legal provisions authorities are relying on.
“We therefore demand clarity regarding the legal basis for the closures and the enforcement measures being applied against our members,” the statement reads.
It has also warned that the dispute could end up before the courts.
“If these concerns are not adequately addressed, we are prepared to approach the courts and pursue all lawful avenues available to protect the rights and interests of our community. The statement concludes: “We seek fairness, equal treatment and the protection of our legal rights,” it reads.
The dispute comes as South Africa experiences heightened tensions around undocumented immigration, particularly concerning foreign nationals operating informal businesses such as spaza shops.
March and March has emerged as one of the prominent movements campaigning for stronger enforcement of immigration laws. The movement was founded by Ngobese-Zuma and has positioned itself around demands for citizen protection, immigration enforcement and government accountability.
The movement’s campaign has also attracted controversy, with critics accusing it of contributing to anti-foreigner sentiment, while its leadership maintains that its campaign is directed at illegal immigration and the enforcement of South African law rather than legally documented foreign nationals.
That distinction is particularly important in the spaza shop dispute.
Being Somali, or being a foreign national, does not by itself establish that a business owner is in South Africa unlawfully. Likewise, the closure of a spaza shop does not necessarily mean that its owner is undocumented.
The legal question in each case is therefore what requirement the business allegedly failed to meet whether relating to immigration status, business registration, municipal licensing, zoning, food safety or another regulatory requirement and whether the enforcement process followed the law.
Ngobese-Zuma’s response suggests that March and March sees the dispute as part of the broader fight over enforcement against undocumented foreign nationals and compliance by foreign-owned businesses.
The movement has previously called for stronger action against illegal immigration, including demands for government to address what it regards as inadequate enforcement of the country’s immigration laws. In May, Ngobese-Zuma called for the government to halt the processing of refugee applications and begin mass deportations of undocumented foreign nationals.
In June, March and March was also among movements campaigning around the issue of undocumented immigration and foreign-owned businesses, amid heightened tensions in communities across the country.
Ngobese-Zuma’s latest response therefore places her movement directly opposite the Somali community on the question of what constitutes lawful enforcement.
For the Somali community, the issue is one of due process and equal treatment.
For March and March, the issue is enforcement and what the movement regards as government’s failure to adequately address illegal immigration.
The two positions are now potentially headed for a courtroom.
