Will March and March march over border for Zimbabwe ‘shutdown’?

Jacinta Ngobese-Zuma, founder and leader of the March and March movement in South Africa, shared a poster on Facebook calling on Zimbabweans to join a nationwide shutdown planned for 31 July.

“Zimbabweans, Phakamani… the time is now,” she wrote, using a Zulu word meaning “stand up”.

The poster read “31 July, Shut Down Zimbabwe,” urging “all citizens” to not go to work and school that day.

Ngobese-Zuma founded March and March in South Africa in 2025 as a civic campaign against undocumented immigration. The movement has led numerous protests demanding stricter enforcement of immigration laws.

Her post did not indicate that March and March itself were organising or formally backing the Zimbabwe shutdown, only that she had shared the call.

Alongside the poster, she shared a message from an account under the name “Madzibaba Veshanduko”, a moniker used by prominent opposition activist Godfrey Karembera, addressed to “the people of all 10 provinces of Zimbabwe”.

“This is not about political parties. It is about citizens and the future of our country,” the message read, adding that Zimbabweans of all political affiliations “share hopes for a better future”, and that “respect for one another, peaceful dialogue and civic participation are essential to building the Zimbabwe we all want for future generations”.

Call follows term-extension law

The call for a shutdown follows reports that President Emmerson Mnangagwa signed constitutional amendments into law extending his term and pushing Zimbabwe’s next general election back to 2030, with terms extended from five to seven years and the president now elected by parliament rather than by popular vote.

Zanu-PF has governed Zimbabwe since 1980, and Mnangagwa, 83, is one of the continent’s oldest serving heads of state.

The Citizen reached out to March and March for comment. Any response received will be added to this article.