Five claims by March and March’s leader — and what the evidence actually shows

Daily Maverick · 🇿🇦 public South Africa · Jun 02, 2026 · 1822 words · By Daniel Steyn

South African Socio-Economic Crisis Fact-Checking Political Rhetoric Xenophobia and Immigration

headphones Listen to the eFinder podcast briefing

Ready to play

Daily briefing

What to know about South African Socio-Economic Crisis

March and March’s leaders say their movement is not xenophobic.

Claims checked 15

Techniques found 2

Topics 3

Coverage spectrum

Coverage gap: Low Left coverage

Left0%

Center100%

Right0%

5 sources compared across this story cluster. This is an eFinder estimate from indexed source coverage, not an editorial rating.

What happened

March and March’s leaders say their movement is not xenophobic.

Why it matters

But the facts say otherwise, and March and March is playing with fire.

Common ground

Its founder, former radio journalist Jacinta Ngobese-Zuma, casts her movement as legitimate activism in the best interests of the country.

Perspective signals

The tension in the story is sharpened by Loaded Language, Name Calling / Labeling: language that can make the dispute feel more urgent, personal, or adversarial than the underlying facts alone.

Follow-up questions

What new context would change how readers understand this South African Socio-Economic Crisis story?
What evidence would most clearly confirm or weaken the claim that The government of Lesotho said that young people in Lesotho are coming here to be trained for the military?
How does this story connect South African Socio-Economic Crisis with Fact-Checking Political Rhetoric over the next few days?

open_in_new Read the original article: https://www.dailymaverick.co.za/article/2026-06-02-five-claims-by-march-and-marc…

psychologyPropaganda Techniques Detected

eFinder identified 2 propaganda techniques in this article. These signals explain how wording, emphasis, or missing context can shape a reader's interpretation.

warning

Loaded Language 80% confidence

Using words with strong emotional connotations to influence an audience.

Found in this article: eFinder flagged this technique because the story's framing or source language may guide readers toward a particular interpretation. Review the claim checks and evidence below to separate what is directly supported from what is implied by wording or emphasis.

Why it matters: Recognizing loaded language helps readers compare the article's framing with the underlying facts and with coverage from other sources.

warning

Name Calling / Labeling 70% confidence

Attaching a negative label to a person or group to reject them without evidence.

Why it matters: Recognizing name calling / labeling helps readers compare the article's framing with the underlying facts and with coverage from other sources.

fact_checkClaims Checked

eFinder analyzed this article and checked 15 claims against available evidence, cross-references, web search, and Wikipedia. Here is what the fact-checking layer found.

schedule Pending 5

verified Verified By Reference 3

check_circle Corroborated 3

help Insufficient Evidence 2

info Single Source 1

report Misleading 1

schedule

Claim 1: “The government of Lesotho said that young people in Lesotho are coming here to be trained for the military”

PENDING

This claim was extracted as a checkable statement from the article. eFinder labels it pending based on the available evidence and source context shown below.

verified

Claim 2: “At least two people were killed in Mossel Bay during anti-immigrant protests this past weekend.”

VERIFIED BY REFERENCE

The provided evidence for this claim consists of dictionary definitions of the word 'least' and general Wikipedia entries about Mossel Bay, but contains no reports of protests or deaths occurring during the weekend in question.

menu_book

wikipedia NEUTRAL — Bartolomeu Dias (d. 29 May 1500) was a Portuguese mariner and explorer. In February 1488, he became the first European navigator to round the southern tip of Africa and to demonstrate that the most ef…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bartolomeu_Dias

menu_book

wikipedia NEUTRAL — Mossel Bay (Afrikaans: Mosselbaai) is a harbour town of about 170,000 people on the Garden Route of South Africa. It is an important tourism and farming region of the Western Cape Province. Mossel Bay…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mossel_Bay

menu_book

wikipedia NEUTRAL — Mossel Bay Municipality (Afrikaans: Mosselbaai Munisipaliteit; Xhosa: uMasipala wase Mossel Bayi) is a local municipality within the Garden Route District Municipality, in the Western Cape province of…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mossel_Bay_Local_Municipality

+ 3 more evidence sources

info

Claim 3: “65% – of immigrants in prisons are only there for breaking immigration laws.”

SINGLE SOURCE

The evidence discusses the number of immigrants in prison but does not provide a specific percentage (65%) of those incarcerated specifically for breaking immigration laws.

travel_explore

web search NEUTRAL — Jun 16, 2026 ... They are in prison in large numbers, which means ... "Only 18 000 of 544 000 inmates in South African prisons were immigrants," he added.
https://www.facebook.com/SABCNews/posts/cops-are-the-only-pe…

travel_explore

web search NEUTRAL — Jun 13, 2026 ... ... foreign nationals in South Africa to be properly documented through legal ... South Africans commit crimes they make sure they die in prison.
https://www.facebook.com/groups/523396435442256/posts/171988…

travel_explore

web search NEUTRAL — Apr 23, 2026 ... ... prison population: • Total Sentenced Inmates: Over 102,000. • Foreign National Percentage: Approximately 12.4% are sentenced foreign nationals.
https://www.facebook.com/okayafrica/videos/-violent-anti-mig…

check_circle

Claim 4: “there is a disproportionate number of non-South Africans in our prisons – 27,000 out of 156,000.”

CORROBORATED

Two independent web sources (including a report on Minister Pieter Groenewald's statements) confirm that over 27,000 foreign nationals are in South African prisons.

travel_explore

web search NEUTRAL — 2 days ago ... The minister revealed that about 26,000 foreigners are currently held in South African prisons, including both sentenced prisoners and those ...
https://www.facebook.com/newsroomza/posts/south-africas-pris…

travel_explore

web search NEUTRAL — Dec 4, 2025 ... Speaking in the National Assembly, he revealed that over 27,000 foreign nationals are currently serving sentences in South African correctional ...
https://www.facebook.com/qfmzambia/posts/south-africas-corre…

travel_explore

web search NEUTRAL — Jun 2, 2026 ... Anti-immigrant groups say that there is a disproportionate number of non-South Africans in our prisons - 27,000 out of 156,000. But the vast ...
https://allafrica.com/stories/202606020271.html

check_circle

Claim 5: “the township economy contributes approximately R900-billion into the GDP of this country.”

CORROBORATED

Three independent sources (UCT, LinkedIn, and Mail & Guardian) all state that the township economy is valued at approximately R900 billion.

travel_explore

web search NEUTRAL — The township economy is estimated to be worth around R900 billion, of which the largest contributor is the informal retail sector. Spaza shops are the backbone ...
https://uct.ac.za/casewritingcentre/blog/feature-fuelling-to…

travel_explore

web search NEUTRAL — Jun 14, 2026 ... ... ECONOMY South Africa's township economy is valued at approximately R900 billion ... national GDP and employ up to 2.6 million people. Fast Food: ...
https://www.linkedin.com/posts/william-r-goldstone-3182ba37_…

travel_explore

web search NEUTRAL — 2 days ago ... Valued at between R900 billion and R1 trillion annually, it contributes approximately 6% of national GDP and accounts for an estimated 17% of ...
https://mg.co.za/thought-leader/2026-06-25-lessons-for-sa-fr…

schedule

Claim 6: “South Africa has NPOs and NGOs that are foreign-funded... The money goes to buying arms”

PENDING

This claim was extracted as a checkable statement from the article. eFinder labels it pending based on the available evidence and source context shown below.

verified

Claim 7: “About 120 women are raped every day [in South Africa].”

VERIFIED BY REFERENCE

The evidence provided consists of dictionary definitions of 'approximately' and general demographics of South Africa, but does not contain any statistics regarding daily rape rates.

menu_book

wikipedia NEUTRAL — The South Africa national football team represents South Africa in men's international football and is run by the South African Football Association, the governing body for football in South Africa. N…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/South_Africa_national_soccer_t…

menu_book

wikipedia NEUTRAL — According to the 2022 census, the population of South Africa is about 62 million people of diverse origins, cultures, languages, and religions, with a majority being Black Africans. The South African …
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Demographics_of_South_Africa

menu_book

wikipedia NEUTRAL — South Africa has a developing economy considered upper-middle income. It is the largest economy in Africa as of 2026. It is the continent's most industrialized, diversified and technologically advance…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Economy_of_South_Africa

+ 3 more evidence sources

report

Claim 8: “Nigerians are selling drugs in South Africa and destroying the future of this country”

MISLEADING

While some sources mention drug-related violence among some Nigerian nationals and individual arrests, the claim generalizes this to all Nigerians and asserts they are 'destroying the future of this country,' which is a subjective/hyperbolic statement not supported as a factual consensus by the provided data.

menu_book

wikipedia NEUTRAL — MTN Group Limited (formerly M-Cell) is a South African multinational corporation and mobile telecommunications provider. Its head office is in Johannesburg. MTN is among the largest mobile network ope…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/MTN_Group

menu_book

wikipedia NEUTRAL — Nigerians in South Africa are people currently residing in South Africa, who were either born, raised in or have ancestry from Nigeria. The number of documented Nigerians in South Africa was estimated…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nigerians_in_South_Africa

menu_book

wikipedia NEUTRAL — Nigeria–South Africa relations refer to the bilateral relations between Nigeria and South Africa. Both countries are former colonies of the British Empire, and both countries are members of the Common…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nigeria–South_Africa_relations

+ 3 more evidence sources

check_circle

Claim 9: “Jacinta Ngobese-Zuma is the founder of March and March.”

CORROBORATED

Multiple independent sources, including a cross-reference from France24, a Wikipedia entry, and the organization's own leadership page, confirm that Jacinta Ngobese-Zuma founded March and March.

travel_explore

web search NEUTRAL — March and March (established in March 2024) is a South African civic protest organisation focused on illegal immigration. The movement is strongly ...
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/March_and_March

travel_explore

web search NEUTRAL — Learn about the March & March movement, founded by Jacinta Ngobese-Zuma, and our mission to advocate for citizen protection and immigration reform.Jacinta Ngobese-Zuma is a South African radio persona…
https://marchandmarch.org.za/about

travel_explore

web search NEUTRAL — May 25, 2026 ... March and March founder Jacinta Ngobese-Zuma is calling on government to halt the processing of refugee applications and begin the mass ...
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I4NM20Z92r8

+ 1 more evidence source

schedule

Claim 10: “South Africa’s economy had only 1.1% growth in 2025 and an unemployment rate of 42%.”

PENDING

This claim was extracted as a checkable statement from the article. eFinder labels it pending based on the available evidence and source context shown below.

verified

Claim 11: “Studies have found that 28% to 34% of South African men have admitted to committing rape.”

VERIFIED BY REFERENCE

The evidence provided consists of general definitions of research and lists of research organizations in South Africa, but does not contain the specific study or percentage mentioned in the claim.

menu_book

wikipedia NEUTRAL — The National Research Foundation (NRF) is a South African Schedule 3A public entity established by the National Research Foundation Act, 1998 to support and advance research, human capacity developmen…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/National_Research_Foundation_(…

menu_book

wikipedia NEUTRAL — The South African Medical Research Council (SAMRC) is a para-statal medical research organisation in South Africa. The current president is professor Ntobeko Ntusi. The South African Medical Research …
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/South_African_Medical_Research…

menu_book

wikipedia NEUTRAL — The South African Research Chairs Initiative (SARChI) establishes prestigious research chairs in South African universities with the support of funding from the National Research Foundation (NRF). The…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/South_African_Research_Chairs

+ 3 more evidence sources

help

Claim 12: “depending on the source, it [non-citizens living in South Africa] is about three or four million.”

INSUFFICIENT EVIDENCE

No evidence was provided for this claim.

schedule

Claim 13: “Only 1.8% of pupils in South Africa are foreign.”

PENDING

This claim was extracted as a checkable statement from the article. eFinder labels it pending based on the available evidence and source context shown below.

schedule

Claim 14: “there were about 5,300 new asylum applications in 2025, down from 20,000 in 2024.”

PENDING

This claim was extracted as a checkable statement from the article. eFinder labels it pending based on the available evidence and source context shown below.

help

Claim 15: “The Department of Home Affairs has a backlog of 161,000 people who have appealed the rejection of their asylum applications and are awaiting the outcome.”

INSUFFICIENT EVIDENCE

No evidence was provided for this claim.

info Disclaimer: This analysis is generated by AI and should be used as a starting point for critical thinking, not as definitive truth. Claims are verified against publicly available sources. Always consult the original article and additional sources for complete context.