Whiteman Tells Jacinta and Phakela to Open Their Own Companies and Employ Their Own People

Viral Post Claims Business Owner Refuses to Reopen After Dismissing Foreign Staff

A post circulating widely on social media claims that a white South African business owner, described only as the “Spartan Business Owner,” has refused to hire South African citizens after dismissing his foreign workers — and has kept his company closed altogether rather than bow to pressure from the March and March movement.

According to the post, the business owner’s previous staff — reportedly foreign nationals — have since left the country. Rather than replace them with South African wrkers, as demanded by members of the March and March movement, the owner has allegedly chosen to keep the business shut “for the time being.”

The Confrontation

The post is accompanied by images showing an apparent heated exchange between an older man, seated in a vehicle and later standing under a shop awning, and a younger man pointing and gesturing during what looks like a confrontation.

Posts allege that during the confrontation, the business owner told members of the movement — invoking founder Jacinta Ngobese-Zuma and co-organiser Nkosinathi “Phakelumthakathi” Ndabandaba by name — that if they wanted South Africans employed, they should start their own companies and hire South Africans themselves, rather than pressuring existing businesses to do so.

Context: A Movement Under Scrutiny

The March and March movement, founded by Ngobese-Zuma, has spent months pressuring businesses across South Africa to stop employing foreign nationals, framing the campaign as a jobs-for-South-Africans initiative. But several of the movement’s headline claims have already been debunked by mainstream outlets. SPAR Group publicly rejected a viral claim that the movement’s pressure had opened 15,000 jobs for South Africans at its stores, calling the claim false. Similar unverified claims about mass hiring in delivery work, restaurants and factories have circulated without evidence.

Business groups have also warned that the movement’s tactics — including entering factories to check for foreign workers and shutting down informal traders — are damaging entire sectors. In Newcastle’s garment manufacturing hub, industry figures have warned that clothing factories could collapse entirely if foreign workers were removed, given how heavily some employers rely on migrant labour.