By Zandile Mahlobo
South Africa’s (SA) spirit of Ubuntu is on life support, and the government’s lack of political will is amplifying the crisis. President Cyril Ramaphosa, it’s time for your cabinet to share a table with the March in March movement and hear what they have to say.
It was on Monday, 13 October 2025, that we woke up to the horrific news that over 40 people from Zimbabwe and Malawi had died in a bus crash on the N1 outside Louis Trichardt in Limpopo. In a media statement issued by the Office of the Premier in Limpopo, the bus, which was travelling from the Eastern Cape to Zimbabwe, carried 91 passengers. A total of 43 people died, 40 were being treated at various medical facilities, and eight self-discharged.
Laughing at death… What has come of us?
A tragic moment that deserved empathy and condolences messages was instead met with mockery and celebration. I was heartbroken when I heard that a 10-month-old baby was among those who died in the bus crash, but my emotions were further torn when I logged onto Facebook and witnessed what was a “death celebration party”.
The sick celebrations, yes, I call them sick because nothing about them was normal, started when news outlets began to report that, amongst the items found at the bus crash accident scene were a variety of medicines. Visuals of cough mixture syrup went viral.
“Dankie Jehova, at least minus 42. Abahambe.”,
“South Africa’s nightmare neighbour at it again as usual.”, “Our ancestors are dealing with them. Dilanabo dlozi.”, “Good works in miraculous ways. Look at those medicines.”,
“SA ancestors said, ‘not with our peoples’ medicines.”
These are among the hundreds of celebratory comments I saw online.
What is March in March calling for?
Earlier in the year, sometime in March 2025 when then Vuma FM radio personality, Jacinta Zinhle Ngobese-Zuma, led a march titled: March in March Until We Win. She explained that the campaign is against the rampant influx of illegal immigrants. Their call to the government has been straightforward, “Enforce stricter border control measures, deport undocumented foreign nationals, and give priority to South African citizens for services, particularly healthcare, and blue-collar jobs like factories and restaurants.”
In recent times, the activists affiliated with the movement have been hard at work blocking migrant patients from accessing clinics and hospitals, arguing that they overwhelm facilities and compromise care for SA citizens. Another claim that arose as activists continue manning gates at healthcare facilities across the country is that foreign nationals hop from clinic to clinic, collecting medication that they take to their home countries.
When visuals of medication from the accident scene emerged, the South African online community took it as proof of the claim, further fuelling the disturbing celebrations of death. Limpopo police have since launched an investigation into the bags that contained large quantities of codeine-rich cough mixture, as the owner remains unidentified.
“Section 22A of the Medicines and Related Substances Act in SA makes it a crime to possess certain scheduled medicines without authorisation,” said Limpopo Police spokesperson Colonel Malesela Ledwaba.
“Legally, someone is only permitted to possess and carry the quantity of medicine you have been prescribed by an authorised prescriber. Carrying a large quantity of medicine without exception is illegal.”
South Africans are not heartless, though
Despite seeing online comments that sent shivers down my spine, I refuse to believe that
South Africans are cruel. We are a nation that has always been celebrated for Ubuntu. I mean, we are still the same country that united in 2019 to give Hector Mkansi and Nonhlanhla Soldaat their dream wedding after a clip of their KFC proposal went viral. Initially, the proposal was mocked, which sparked support from people and companies who funded the ceremony. We are still the same Mzansi that supported 30-year-old Ntando Mhlongo from Durban until he underwent a successful sponsored hydrocelectomy surgery at La Verna
Private Hospital in Ladysmith, after living six years with a swollen testicle.
This is the same country that raised over R100 000 for legendary actress Brenda Ngxoli after her challenging family circumstances went viral on social media.
Oh, since we have been talking all things 2026 FIFA World Cup lately, do you remember how South Africans rallied behind Ghana when they were the only African country left in the 2010 World Cup tournament?
In my view, the mockery towards the many lives lost in the bus crash is simply a sad reaction of fed-up and frustrated citizens, whose government continues to not have a clear stance on the issue of illegal immigrants.
A non-ending finger-pointing affair
We have just about two months until we conclude the year, and I already foresee a 2026 where the SA government and the March in March movement continue schooling each other about the Constitution and who is interpreting it incorrectly; a nonsensical series that has been playing out since early 2025. The endless media statements from provincial health departments condemning the movement and court cases by the South African Human Rights Commission against the movement are not solving the problem.
As a child, whenever my siblings and I showed reluctance to go to school, my mother would remind us of the importance of education. She often quoted the late South African politician Prince Mangosuthu Buthelezi, who once said, “Izwe liyobuya ngepeni,” which, when translated, means “The nation will be restored through the pen.”
Maybe the ‘war’ against the issue of illegal immigrants can be solved by sitting down and re-examining the Constitution, the Immigration Act 13 of 2002, and the Refugees Act 130 of 1998. It doesn’t have to be through xenophobic attacks or dehumanising acts.
It’s time for the SA government to acknowledge the crisis and do away with ambiguous speeches. We can never forget the solidarity of our African neighbours when our people went into exile, but our leaders need to understand that we can enforce the law without abandoning our gratitude and morality.
On behalf of fellow South Africans… I am sorry
To families that lost loved ones in the terrible bus crash, our condolences. We are a country at a moral crossroads. The cold jubilations of the lives lost in the bus crash do not come from South Africans being cruel, but from frustration. This was a united cry from citizens who live in communities where youth sit on street corners each day because there is a lack of job opportunities, and each year the unemployment statistics continue to increase. And of course, our government remains silent in this regard too, fuelling claims that illegal immigrants are stealing jobs.
My people simply feel unheard, unseen, and unprotected. Please forgive us. South Africans, let us not lose our Ubuntu in the pursuit of justice because if we do, we lose our true selves.
Zandile Mahlobo is a student at Durban University of Technology, studying towards the Bachelor of Journalism Honours degree. The views in this opinion piece are expressed in her personal capacity.
