In 2014, a 28-year-old radio producer made waves in the broadcasting world when she won the MTN Radio Award for Best Content Producer on Gagasi FM’s flagship breakfast show. That producer, Jacinta Ngobese-Zuma, had already travelled a long road from her early days on campus radio at the University of KwaZulu-Natal, where she was studying supply management.

Her love for radio took her from campus studios to Vibe FM, Inanda FM, Gagasi FM where she was content producer and co-host, and later had her own show until 2014 when her contract wasn’t renewed.

She came back to radio later to Vuma FM, her last radio career to date, which ended dramatically, with a provincial MEC going to court to dispel rumours about her role in Ngobese-Zuma’s axing. She’s not keen to dwell on her last employer but isn’t shy to defend her integrity over her contract termination fiasco.

Today, Ngobese-Zuma is no longer behind a studio microphone but at the forefront of a movement, March and March, campaigning against illegal migration. The movement began as a slow burn on social media in January, where she used her strong following to raise awareness about crimes committed by undocumented foreign nationals.

Her mid-morning Vuma FM show once served as a haven for the downtrodden, tackling topics from survival struggles to the trauma of sexual assault. She was at the forefront of organising what was termed a provincial wedding, where with the help of many business, turned the dream of a struggling couple of having a splendid wedding. It is these gestures that have endeared her to the hearts of many.

For Ngobese-Zuma, activism is simply an extension of her calling.

“I’ve always used my voice to help people,” she says. “The shift isn’t in what I do, but in where I do it.” Her activism, she says, was sparked by anxiety over the country’s future, particularly the challenge of tracing offenders whose presence in South Africa is unrecorded.

“I worry about the country we’ll leave behind for our children,” she said. “It keeps me up at night.” March and March, as a movement, is a polarising discussion that oscillates between admiration and disdain.

Supporters laud its role in screening patients at public health facilities, crediting it with shorter queues and less overcrowding. Critics, however, dismiss it as a xenophobic vigilante group. Ironically, Ngobese-Zuma once spearheaded a social cohesion drive, We Are One, aimed at fostering unity between black and Indian communities in Phoenix, Inanda, KwaMashu and Ntuzuma.

Backed by high-profile personalities like Vivian Reddy and government support through Durban Tourism and eThekwini Municipality, she believes the initiative could have prevented the racially charged killings in Phoenix during the July 2021 unrest. She rejects claims that her movement denies healthcare to anyone.

“The law is clear, everyone is entitled to emergency healthcare. We don’t stop people; we advise them to use private facilities when possible. The danger is treating patients whose medical histories are completely unknown.”

For Ngobese-Zuma, activism is not a job, but a passion she balances with being a mother, wife, and businesswoman.

“My children understand why I do what I do. It’s guided by love.” Despite the criticism, she is resolute.

“South Africans of all races are united in wanting a functional, corruption-free country. Especially for black people who have never truly enjoyed the fruits of freedom and now have to share them with the whole world.”

Her movement started as a march in March, hence the previous name of March in March. On the realisation that undocumented migration issues and related crimes went beyond one month, they rebranded to March and March.

“We will march and march until we see change in our society.”

SUNDAY TRIBUNE

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