Operation Dudula protests foreign nationals at Hillbrow clinic, says they should go home

• Operation Dudula members picketed outside the Hillbrow community health centre on Tuesday, 30 August
• The group is protesting foreign national using healthcare facilities in the country which they claim is deteriorating
• Gauteng Health Department Spokesperson Motalatale Modiba warned citizens against obstructing healthcare services

JOHANNESBURG - Members of Operation Dudula yelled and berated at foreign nationals who were seeking medical attention at the Hillbrow community health centre on Tuesday, 30 August. Members of the group picketed outside the health facility to “raise awareness” of the country’s problems.

Johannesburg Operation Dudula Chairperson Siphiwe Shabalala claimed that healthcare facilities in the country were deteriorating because of the influx of foreign nationals. Shabalala told TimesLIVE that the group is tired of South Africans not getting the right services because of foreigners.

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He said Operation Dudula is not xenophobic but wants foreigners to return to their countries. A short while later, the group dispersed.

Speaking exclusively to Briefly News, National Secretary-General of Operation Dudula Zandile Dabula commented on the pickets.

She said South Africans are often turned away at healthcare facilities and claims that foreign nationals are given first priority. Dabula added that since there are more foreign nationals present, medication runs out as well.

She further stated that there is a law in place allows undocumented nationals to be treated after they pay a fee, but the rule is not put into practice. Dadula also alleged that foreign nationals often fake documents to be treated at medical facilities.

Similar protests are being planned throughout the country. When asked what the group’s desired outcome from the protests is, Dabula said:

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“We want to see less undocumented people being serviced by our government if they are being serviced then they need to pay for it because the budget allocated is only for South Africans. If they’re going to misuse the budget that South Africans are supposed to be benefiting from, then it’s going to become a problem.”

Gauteng Health Department Spokesperson Motalatale Modiba said no services were interrupted during the protest. He warned citizens against obstructing access to healthcare services, a human right.

Modiba said the department would not hesitate to call the law enforcement agencies. According to The Citizen, the vigilante group allegedly threatened to beat a pregnant woman to death.

The patient claims that she was turned away from the Kalafong Hospital in Atteridgeville by the protestors. She was attempting to get medication when she was allegedly threatened and said she feared that the group would kill her and her unborn child.

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South Africans react to the group:

@DRamachela said:

“Some Drs working inside that hospital are foreigners. Are they going to be chased away?”

@Sterm83456433 commented:

“Now, this is xenophobic totally out of what the MEC was implying... Anyway, everybody wants fame these days so let them dance at those gates. But I’m wondering if they going to ask every patient for an ID or passport themselves? If yes, what level of authority is that to civilians?”

@nzanim posted:

“Bad precedent by MEC of Health in Limpopo what next? Anarchy, if you don’t have a Dompass in South Africa you will not access the clinic for medical attention.”

@leona_kleynhans added:

“These vigilante thugs must be arrested for intimidation!! To my knowledge the only authorities mandated to investigate employment issues are Home Affairs or Labour Dept. Where are they?”

Operation Dudula protestors stop patients from receiving medical attention at Kalafong Hospital

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In a related matter, Briefly News also reported demonstrators who claim to be Operation Dudula members have been protesting outside the Kalafong Provincial Tertiary Hospital in Atterrigeville, Tshwane, barring patients from entering the medical facility.

The protest has been going on for three weeks, and Doctors Without Borders (DWB) has condemned the protest, saying it’s xenophobic because the patients turned away are migrants.

TimesLIVE reported that the protesters have been using loudhailers to chant threatening statements, and DWB have urged health authorities and leaders to protect access to healthcare for all who require it.

Source: Briefly News