Operation Dudula Vows to Shut Everything Down if Army is Not Deployed to Fight Zama Zamas

• A group of women who call themselves Izimbokodo under the Operation Dudula banner want the army to deal with illegal miners
• The women marched down to the Department of Defence to hand over their list of demands on Wednesday
• Some South Africans are in agreement with the organisation, while others say Operation Dudula is a group of vigilantes

JOHANNESBURG - Anti-immigration organisation Operation Dudulu recently stated that the South African National Defence Force should be called in to help deal with the scourge of zama zamas (illegal miners).

The call for the SA army's involvement comes from a group of women who call themselves Izimbokodo. They marched to the Department of Defence on Wednesday, 17 August, to make the demands known.

Izimbokodo have argued that zama zamas are terrorising communities and the police and community members cannot handle them, according to TimesLIVE. They want the army to restore peace in those areas.

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According to SABCNews, the group has given Defence Minister Thandi Modise seven days to respond to the memorandum of demands.

Zandile Dabula, Operation Dudula's national secretary-general, stated that Modise is their last hope in dealing with illegal miners, especially after the brutal sexual assault of eight women in Krugersdorp last month.

Dabula stated that the organisation approached President Cyril Ramaphosa to declare a state of emergency in May, which has not happened yet. Dabula added that Operation Dudula will shut down roads, businesses and all operations until the army is deployed in areas in which zama zamas are known to operate.

South Africans react

@umzilikazi said:

"What exactly does SANDF do?? So much budget goes to them for doing nothing!!"

@KomityiE said:

"To address the issues of zama zamas killing innocent people's lives, law enforcement must speed up response to assist communities before they take wrong actions. We are sick and tired of GBV against women and children."

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@jwbornman_ said:

"Don't know why we're giving voice to these vigilantes again. Really nothing new is being said here. The free and uncritical platform just serves to legitimise their xenophobia."

Operation Dudula heads to Cape Town, raids businesses who employ foreign nationals

Briefly News previously reported that Over 200 Operation Dudula members took to the streets of Cape Town on Wednesday, 10 August, and marched to shops and petrol stations suspected of hiring foreign nationals.

They aimed to demand that the establishments get rid of their foreign staff in favour of unemployed youth in the area.

TimesLIVE reported that the group of protesters handed over the CVs of unemployed South Africans and gave the workplaces a deadline of seven days to employ the youth.

Source: Briefly News