A human rights organisation has taken the rare step of asking a judge to keep the names of clients and witnesses redacted in court papers due to what it says will be violent reprisals from Operation Dudula members.
With witnesses reporting death threats, harassment and even denial of hospital access, the Socio-Economic Rights Institute of SA (Seri) fears for the lives of its clients, partners and witnesses for seeking to interdict Operation Dudula.
Operation Dudula has always denied its members have been part of any unlawful conduct and insisted it is merely enforcing SA’s laws.
The applicants, represented by Seri, are seeking to interdict Operation Dudula from unlawful acts, as well as alleged government complicity, against foreign nationals. It launched proceedings this month in the Johannesburg high court.
Operation Dudula is primarily a Soweto-based organisation that came to prominence in 2021 after Covid-19. The organisation, which bills itself as “against illegal immigrants”, has been accused of xenophobic violence and labelled “criminal” by political parties including the DA.
It has denied it is xenophobic and insists the government should enforce SA’s immigration laws.
However, in court papers, several residents in sworn affidavits list hardships, harassment and violence they say they’ve experienced at the hands of Operation Dudula members.
All names have been redacted in the court papers, seen by Business Day, out of fear of reprisals.
The main applicant, for example, spoke about “direct threats from Operation Dudula members” when assisting a woman in obtaining police protection. The applicant went into hiding for two weeks because “members of Operation Dudula were marching to my home”.
In Doornfontein in 2022, residents say in the same redacted court papers, they were allegedly “attacked and evicted by Operation Dudula members armed with weapons”.
An eight-month pregnant woman says she was chased out of Jeppe Clinic “by armed Operation Dudula members” when she sought access to healthcare. She “ended [up] giving birth at home” out of fear for her life.
The applicants say that Operation Dudula uses social media and other digital communication as a way of “inciting action against communities, and especially against foreign nationals”. It also organises public gatherings “without compliance with legal requirements”, aimed at “threatening” communities”.
They list various other instances of Operation Dudula’s alleged unlawful conduct such as demanding IDs, as well as its members “routinely [attending] gatherings in military camouflage clothing”, which is against the law.
As corroboration the applicants point to the organisation’s own website and numerous news reports, from eNCA and Newzroom Afrika to YouTube.
The applicants also say the police and home affairs officials have either been complicit with, or have done nothing to, Operation Dudula for the unlawful conduct of its members.
For example, in 2022 “when Operation Dudula attacked ... residents [in Soweto]” the SA Police Service (SAPS) “seemingly accompanied” the organisation’s members or “stood back and did nothing”. The applicants also say home affairs has planned “joint operations with the SAPS targeting communities identified by Operation Dudula”.
The applicants want the Immigration Act amended because it provides wide powers to authorities to interrogate anyone about their immigration status. “There are ... no limitations on the time or place where such conduct may be performed,” they say.
Operation Dudula had not responded to questions by the time of publication. The home affairs minister’s spokesperson told Business Day: “The department of home affairs was served with these papers yesterday, Tuesday 23 May 2023. The department is studying the papers and will respond after considering the contents.”
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