Rise Mzansi leader Zibi rejects halaal food complaints as Islamophobic
Songezo Zibi responded to a viral social media video by Sokhana Saliwa, who said almost all food products and restaurants were becoming halaal-certified. Zibi warned against dividing South Africans along religious lines.
Saliwa argued that halaal certification is becoming dominant in the food industry, even though most South Africans are Christian. He also claimed that the Muslim minority is dictating how citizens eat.
Some social media users made a further claim. They said non-Muslim South Africans were being excluded from government catering contracts because of strict halaal requirements.
Zibi said narratives about halaal are part of an attempt to divide South Africans along religious, racial and ethnic lines. He said Muslim and Jewish South Africans have a right to halaal and kosher food. In his words: "This is not replacement; it is unity in diversity."
Key facts
- Who
- Songezo Zibi (Rise Mzansi leader); Sokhana Saliwa (creator of viral social media video criticising halaal certification)
- What
- Zibi responded to a viral social media video by Sokhana Saliwa, who argued that almost all food products and restaurants were becoming halaal-certified. Zibi said the complaint was Islamophobic and warned against dividing South Africans along religious lines.
- When
- 26 October 2026
- Where
- South Africa
- Status
- Reported