Patriotic Alliance Escalates Deportation Demands

The Patriotic Alliance (PA) has intensified its controversial anti-immigration stance, with party leader and Minister of Sports, Arts and Culture, Gayton McKenzie, now directly pressuring public institutions to terminate the employment of foreign nationals. The PA has declared undocumented immigrants must be deported and South Africans prioritized for all public sector opportunities.

In a statement this week, McKenzie warned CEOs and boards of public entities that they had two weeks to ensure no foreign nationals were employed in positions where South Africans are qualified. He argued that the country’s sky-high unemployment rate of 31.9% was a “ticking time bomb” that could lead to civil unrest.

“There will be no foreigners hired while South Africans remain unemployed,” McKenzie said. “It is not xenophobic to prioritize citizens in their own country.”

This latest declaration follows a series of similar hardline messages from both McKenzie and PA deputy president Kenny Kunene, who reiterated the party’s position under the slogan “Mabahambe” (“let them go”), calling for the mass deportation of undocumented immigrants across sectors—particularly in spaza shops, restaurants, and hijacked inner-city buildings.

Targeting Home Affairs

With the party growing in political influence following the 2024 elections, the PA is now lobbying for control of the Department of Home Affairs, seeking to place Kunene at the helm. If successful, this would place immigration enforcement and deportation logistics under PA’s direct command.

“We don’t need new legislation. The raids are already happening. What we need is resolve, and we have that,” McKenzie said during a parliamentary briefing in June.

The PA’s proposals include the use of military personnel to guard borders, detention facilities for undocumented immigrants, and stricter screening of foreign-owned businesses.

Growing Momentum – and Backlash

McKenzie recently reignited debate at a party rally in May, where he demanded the return of the death penalty alongside renewed calls to expel all undocumented migrants.

Civil society organisations and legal experts have condemned the PA’s rhetoric, warning that such language could inflame xenophobic violence reminiscent of past outbreaks in Gauteng and KwaZulu-Natal.

“Targeting people based on nationality, especially without due process, violates both domestic law and South Africa’s human rights obligations,” said an attorney with the South African Human Rights Commission.

Despite criticism, the PA’s populist messaging has struck a chord with some communities frustrated by unemployment, strained public services, and rising crime.

With local elections looming in 2026, the PA is cementing its identity as a law-and-order, anti-immigration party. Analysts suggest its growing coalition leverage could help it force concessions on immigration enforcement—even without holding a majority in Parliament.