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FILE | Operation Dudula members march in Soweto.
Several members of Operation Dudula have been arrested and are being held at Diepkloof Police Station in Soweto.
The members were apprehended yesterday during an operation at a hospital.
In June, the organisation launched a nationwide campaign to bar illegal foreign nationals from accessing healthcare at public facilities.
The group’s actions have been criticised by government and other advocacy groups while some communities have praised the group for its operations.
Operation Dudula President Zandile Dabula says, “We’ve been battling to get the charges because they kept changing. I mean the SAPS (South African Police Service) is still trying to cook what the charges can be because firstly, they were accused of impersonating an immigration officer and SAPS but then when we made them aware that if one impersonates they were probably carrying a card as identification of Home Affairs or rather wearing the uniform of the SAPS or the DHA (Department of Home Affairs) and that’s when the charges changed to be trespassing and public violence.”
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