Operation Dudula has vowed to intensify its campaign against illegal foreigners even in light of fierce resistance by pro-immigration NGOs.
Scores of Operation Dudula members on Thursday gathered at the Marry Fitzgerald Square in New Town, Johannesburg before marching to Braamfontein to submit to the Socio-Economic Rights Institute ( SERI) and the South African Human Rights Commission, an event that quickly escalated when they found a larger crowd of pro-SERI protesters blocking the NGO’s entrance vowing to defend it.
Glad in red t-shirts of Abahlali Basemjondolo (Land rights pressure group), the counter protesters were steadfast in their blockade accusing Operation Dudula of being driven by xenophobia.
The situation was so tensed with police having to put a human wall between the two groups with Operation Dudula eventually failing to submit its memorandum.
After failing to submit the memorandum Operation Dudula President Zandile Dabula said they were caught off guard by the counter protest and vowed to mobilise more people to participate in future demonstrations.
“We were caught off guard because we did not expect such. We did not expect that, you know, an NGO would be resistant and it’s during the week most of our members are at work but you know what, maybe what we need to do is we’ll go back and mobilise and we will come back stronger. Maybe you guys can tell them that they must go mobilise even more.Let’s see who’s best on the ground. Let’s see who this country belongs to because it definitely belongs to us as South Africans and we will not be overpowered by foreign nationals,” said a visibly frustrated Dabula.
Operation Dudula did manage to handover a memorandum to the Chairperson of the South African Human Rights Commission Chris Nissen whom they accused of prioritising foreigners over citizens.
Abahlali Basemjondolo’s Secretary General Thapelo Mohapi hit back at Dudula for targeting SERI saying the pressure group’s anger was misdirected.
“Us and Dudula are both working class organisations. As much as South Africans are affected by poverty and inequality, so are the poor migrants who are coming to the cities for a better life so they ( foreign nationals) can’t be blamed for what is going wrong in the country. this is entirely the fault of the ANC government and that’s where the anger should be directed not at SERI or our African brothers and sisters,” said Mohapi to Newsnote.
He also denied claims by Dudula that the NGOs were being funded by questionable entities from abroad.
Operation Dudula meanwhile challenged SAHRC to take up issues on behalf of frustrated South Africans and listed cases it says where ongoing in which citizens were having their homes hijacked by criminal syndicates that it claims are made up of foreign nationals.
No injuries were recorded during the scuffle and no arrests were made.