South Africa’s Police Minister Bheki Cele and senior police officers on Monday visited the home of Nhlanhla “Lux” Dlamini following reports of a bombing incident.
According to <a href="https://www.iol.co.za/news/crime-and-courts/look-hawks-forensic-cops-comb-luxs-pimville-home-for-clues-after-double-bombing-f4c8aaed-de21-4d92-b63d-2b1017e08f6f">IOL</a>, it is alleged that two commercial explosives, like the ones used in mines or ATM bombings, exploded at Lux’s family home in Pimville, Soweto, in the early hours of Monday morning.
Cele said they were taking the threats seriously and the Directorate for Priority Crime Investigation (Hawks) and forensic teams were deployed to the area to investigate the claims. He said:
<blockquote>
It seems minor until you see the damage… The explosives used were quite powerful. This is a form of thuggery and we hope that SAPS teams find answers. We are expecting a report from the forensic teams.
A case of public violence and malicious damage to property has been registered.
</blockquote>
Lux, who is president of the Soweto parliament and former leader of Operation Dudula, has blamed the opposition Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) party led by Julius Malema for the attack.
More: <a href="https://zero.pindula.co.zw/">Pindula News</a>

Pindula News

SA: Police Minister Visits Former Operation Dudula Leader's Home After Bomb Allegations

The Zimbabwe Community in South Africa says they remain hopeful that the South African government might change its mind and extend the <a href="https://www.pindula.co.zw/Zimbabwean_Exemption_Permit_Visa">Zimbabwe Exemption Permits (ZEP).</a>
Speaking on <a href="https://cite.org.zw/we-are-hopeful-zeps-will-be-renewed/">‘This morning on Asakhe’, a CITE</a> daily Twitter Spaces programme, the chairperson of the Zimbabwe Community in South Africa, Ngqabutho Nicholas Mabhena said they remain hopeful the South African government might change its mind. Mabhena said:
<blockquote>
“But if it does not happen it would not have happened and we encourage those that have properties in South Africa to avoid losing properties, in the event that you get deported or something happens that you take advantage of what the ambassador said that you register, indicate the property that you have, you take your property to  Zimbabwe so that if by any chance you get arrested, you are not going to lose any property.
</blockquote>
Mabhena also said they are hopeful that the Zimbabwean government will keep its promise in terms of ensuring that returning citizens will not be made to pay duty at the border
He said it is their view that the Zimbabwean government is not ready to welcome back ZEP holders because “our economy collapsed, and the people that are going back to Zimbabwe are not going to be getting any jobs to sustain themselves.”
Addressing the media in Pretoria last week, Zimbabwe’s Ambassador to South Africa <a href="https://www.pindula.co.zw/David_Hamadziripi">David Hamadziripi</a> said the government wants to assist citizens who voluntarily wish to return home before the expiry of their permits on 30 June.
The permit holders are also pinning hopes on the South African High Court to rule in their favour after the Helen Suzman Foundation (HSF) challenged the non-renewal of the ZEPs.
The case will be heard in April.
Last year, Operation Dudula, an anti-immigrant group in South Africa, said <a href="https://zero.pindula.co.zw/operation-dudula-says-zep-extension-an-insult-to-south-africans/">the extension of Zimbabwean Exemption Permits (ZEPs)</a> is an insult to South Africans. 
Some Context:
The ZEPs had provided legal protection to some 180 000 Zimbabweans and allowed them to reside, work, and attend school there.
The initial grace period for ZEP holders was 12 months, ending in December 2022, during which they could apply for another kind of permit or leave the country.
In September last year, the South African Home Affairs Department announced that it had extended the validity of the ZEPs to the end of June 2023.
Only about 6 000 permit holders have applied to be moved to other permits.
The permits were first issued in 2010 under the Dispensation of Zimbabweans Project (ZDP).
The programme was renewed in 2014 as the Zimbabwe Special Permit (ZSP) before the ZEP was introduced in 2017.
<h2><a href="https://zero.pindula.co.zw/">More Pindula News</a></h2>

South Africa: Zimbabweans Remain Hopeful The SA Govt Might Extend ZEPs

Members of Operation Dudula, a South African anti-foreigner, anti-illegal immigration group, on Monday demonstrated outside the Pretoria High Court, opposing the Zimbabwe exemption permit (ZEP) extension.
They sang and marched outside the high court leading to the closure of a section of Madiba Street.
<a href="https://www.timeslive.co.za/news/south-africa/2023-02-06-operation-dudula-takes-to-the-streets-over-zimbabwe-permit-extension/">TimesLive</a> quoted national deputy chairperson of Operation Dudula Dan Radebe as saying:
<blockquote>
We are here to demonstrate our dissatisfaction with the extensions of ZEPs because the moment you extend it for another six months, it means you are saying to South Africans, they have become accustomed to poverty, so they can hold on for another six months, while these foreigners take South African jobs and things like that.
We are here to demonstrate to the court that we are not happy with the extension of the ZEP, and this is not limited to the ZEP.
Today is also about us applying to be part of the proceedings.
</blockquote>
Operation Dudula wants to join a court application by the Helen Suzman Foundation (HSF) that seeks a review of the lawfulness of the decision by SA Home Affairs Minister Aaron Motsoaledi to terminate the ZEP.
HSF wants the high court in Pretoria to declare the decision by Motsoaledi to terminate the ZEP and grant a limited extension of 12 months unlawful, unconstitutional and invalid.
Motsoaledi is opposing the application by HSF challenging the termination of the ZEP.
HSF is still pursuing its legal challenge, despite Motsoaledi extending the permit by another six months from the initial 12-months extension that expired on 31 December 2022 to 30 June 2023.
Operation Dudula has applied to the court to join as a respondent in the application.

Operation Dudula Demonstrate At Pretoria High Court Over Zimbabwe Permit Extension

The Gauteng Department of Health (DOH) has been urged to open criminal cases against Operation Dudula for disrupting health services.
The Collective Voices against Health Xenophobia, an organisation which represents around 30 civil society organisations, criticised Operation Dudula for “attacking” patients at Johannesburg’s Jeppe Clinic.
This was in response to claims from earlier this week that Operation Dudula protestors had blocked immigrants from entering the clinic by staging a demonstration there.
According to the Collective Voices against Health Xenophobia, immigrants were singled out as “scapegoats” for a public health crisis and targeted in an effort “to distract attention.”
Isaiah Mombilo, the chair of the Congolese Civil Society of South Africa, one of the organisations represented by the Collective Voices against Health Xenophobia, said:
<blockquote>
The number of foreigners going to hospital are insignificant. There’re no big numbers, it’s not visible…When people are saying these kinds of statements, they aren’t aware of what’s going on, they aren’t dealing with accurate information, they are not dealing with true information, they are not dealing with true statistics.
</blockquote>
According to Mombilo, individuals who restrict foreigners’ access to medical treatment are hurting the next generation of Africans, and this will have an impact on the entire continent.
Last year, Limpopo Health MEC Dr Phophi Ramathuba confronted a Zimbabwean patient at a Bela-Bela hospital telling her that <a href="https://zero.pindula.co.zw/south-africa-doctor-tells-zimbabweans-to-get-medical-treatment-in-zimbabwe/">South Africa does not have the budget</a> to accommodate foreign nationals.
<h2><a href="https://zero.pindula.co.zw/">More Pindula News</a></h2>

Jeppe Clinic Attacks: Govt Urged To Act Against Operation Dudula For Attacking Foreigners

A South African human rights activist and lawyer, Jos Venter, said it is illegal to deny children of undocumented foreign nationals entry at any school in that country.
Venter said this in response to Patriotic Alliance leader Gayton McKenzie who had called for the children of foreign nationals to be refused entry to South African schools.
Venter said McKenzie’s call was unlawful because education was a basic human right. He said:
<blockquote>
It is absolutely illegal and Gayton McKenzie is wrong in his view, wrong in the law and at a practical level, the implementation of the law is problematic.
But we have the 2019 judgment from the Eastern Cape division of the high court, where the court expressly said that, based on a lack of documents, children can’t be refused admission to public schools.
</blockquote>
Last week, the South African pressure group <a href="https://www.pindula.co.zw/Operation_Dudula">Operation Dudula</a>, said its members will camp outside schools across Gauteng Province to prevent undocumented foreign children and teachers to be part of day one of school.

Refusing Undocumented Children Access To School 'Wrong And Illegal', Says South African Lawyer

Police in South Africa have said they are on alert <a href="https://zero.pindula.co.zw/operation-dudula-plans-to-camp-outside-gauteng-schools/">in case of renewed clashes</a> between Dudula groups and foreign street vendors plying their trade in Johannesburg’s Alexandra township.
<ul>
<li><a href="https://zero.pindula.co.zw/operation-dudula-plans-to-camp-outside-gauteng-schools/">Operation Dudula Plans To Camp Outside Schools In Gauteng</a></li>
</ul>
Two groups – the Alexandra Dudula Movement and Operation Dudula – emerged recently and support seems to be growing among South African communities who feel marginalised.
There are concerns that their campaigns could lead to yet another outbreak of xenophobic violence in the country.
<h2>What do these groups want?</h2>
Dudula is a Zulu word which loosely means to “push back” or “drive back” – this gives a clue about what they want. 
The groups are campaigning against undocumented foreign nationals who flocked to the township to use it as a base to earn a living mainly from Sandton, one of the richest commercial districts on the whole continent, which is just a few kilometres away.
Poverty is the main driver of the tension as South African residents believe that foreigners are the cause of many of their difficulties.
Though the two groups are separate, they have been inspired by the same cause – they both hope to drive out undocumented African migrants from their communities.
They believe by doing this they can ensure that jobs and business opportunities go to South Africans.
<h2>What is the difference between the two groups?</h2>
The Alexandra Dudula Movement was founded last year. The people behind it alleged that foreign nationals were illegally occupying government-issued housing in Alexandra, which is supposed to be for poor citizens.
But the campaign has expanded to include a call for all undocumented African migrants to stop trading in Alexandra. 
In December 2022, the movement closed down all the stalls owned by foreign nationals who could not show the correct papers for running the business or a valid passport.
They then assigned the stalls to South Africans, such as Alexandra resident Wendy Sithole, who started selling vegetables when the foreigners were forced to stop, according to the BBC.
Not all of the group’s actions have been legal and the authorities are investigating cases of public disorder and intimidation.
Operation Dudula is based in Johannesburg’s Soweto township – more than 25km (16 miles) away on the other side of the city.
Founded by 33-year-old Nhlanhla Lux Dlamini, it came to prominence in June 2022 when Soweto residents marched through the township on what was called a “clean-up” operation.
It targeted suspected drug dealers and people who were alleged to be illegally occupying government property.
But just as in Alexandra, the group’s scope of interest has expanded.
Members now want the many foreign shop owners in South Africa to shut down their businesses and leave the country.
They also want small businesses, such as restaurants and shops, to only employ South African citizens. They believe these places overlook South Africans and hire undocumented migrants instead because they can pay them less than the minimum wage.
Authorities have said while this may happen in some places it is not a widespread problem.
Both groups have denied that their motives are xenophobic and argue that they are simply protecting the livelihoods of South Africans, something they say the African National Congress (ANC) government is failing to do.
They both say they are not affiliated with any political party.
<h2>What has the reaction been?</h2>
The premier of Gauteng province, the ANC’s David Makhura, has called on civil society groups to work with the government to promote peace and tolerance.
But some opposition parties are capitalising on the situation.
The newly formed Patriotic Alliance (PA) led by ex-prisoner Gayton McKenzie wants all undocumented migrants to leave the country.
In 2022, members of the opposition Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) led by Julius Malema visited restaurants in Johannesburg to “inspect” the ratio of foreign workers employed and to put pressure on businesses to hire more South Africans.
The government has said that it is doing more to ensure the people have the correct documentation – but that will take a while.
<h2>More Pindula News</h2>

South Africa: What The 2 Dudula Groups Are Calling For, Reactions

This week <a href="https://www.pindula.co.zw/Operation_Dudula">Operation Dudula</a> announced its intention to <a href="https://zero.pindula.co.zw/operation-dudula-plans-to-camp-outside-gauteng-schools/">camp outside schools in Gauteng</a> to prevent undocumented foreign children and teachers from accessing education in the country.
The targeting brought to light the typical problems faced by foreigners in the country, particularly Zimbabweans.
Many Zimbabweans in South Africa are economic migrants who have left their country in search of better opportunities but often find themselves living in poverty and facing discrimination in the labor market. 
The following is a list of the things the Zimbabwean diaspora in South Africa, especially the undocumented ones, have to deal with:
<h2>Xenophobia</h2>
Zimbabweans, along with other African immigrants, have been targeted in violent attacks in South Africa in the past. In recent memory is the April 2022 brutal killing of <a href="https://zero.pindula.co.zw/zimbabwean-man-brutally-murdered-by-vigilantes-in-sa-was-not-a-criminal/">Elvis Nyathi</a> who was murdered simply for having attempted to flee from a vigilante mob.
Analysts have however often highlighted that it’s not necessarily Xenophobia (a dislike of or prejudice against foreigners) but Afrophobia (a dislike of black Africans) as evidence suggests that non-African foreigners are tolerated by the locals.
<h2>Economic struggles</h2>
Many Zimbabwean immigrants in South Africa are underemployed or unemployed and struggle to make a living. Those without legal documents are often exploited by employers who take advantage of their illegal status.
Those that managed to get some employment also live in fear of losing their jobs if authorities and vigilante groups like Operation Dudula push for the locals to be given the jobs instead.
In 2022 one of the actions of Operation Dudula was to move from company to company searching out foreigners and demanding that the employers terminate their contracts and offer the jobs to locals instead.
<h2>Legal issues</h2>
Zimbabwean immigrants in South Africa often face difficulties obtaining legal documentation, such as work permits, which can make it harder for them to find employment or access services.
Many are undocumented and may be hesitant to seek legal help for fear of being discovered and deported. Even those who do have documentation may struggle to navigate the legal system and understand their rights, due to language barriers and cultural differences.
Additionally, many Zimbabweans in South Africa may not have the financial resources to afford legal representation, which can make it difficult for them to assert their rights or seek justice in cases of discrimination or abuse.
This lack of access to legal support and protection can leave them vulnerable to exploitation and abuse, and can make it difficult for them to resolve disputes or seek remedies for wrongful treatment.
<h2>Discrimination</h2>
Zimbabwean immigrants in South Africa may face discrimination based on their nationality, which can make it more difficult for them to access services or find employment.
Zimbabwean immigrants in South Africa may face challenges in accessing basic services like healthcare, education and housing due to a lack of legal documents.
For those that eventually get permanent residence or citizenship, their ID cards are distinctly different from local South Africans making it easy for public service providers, employers, and potential clients to discriminate against them.
In 2022, a South African health official was <a href="https://zero.pindula.co.zw/south-africa-doctor-tells-zimbabweans-to-get-medical-treatment-in-zimbabwe/">filmed accusing a sick Zimbabwean woman on a hospital bed</a> that people like her were unfairly burdening the South African healthcare system.
<h2>Mental Health and Homesickness</h2>
Many Zimbabwean immigrants in South Africa are separated from their families and communities, which can be emotionally difficult. Many therefore wish they could return home but find it hard to restart a life in Zimbabwe after spending a considerable amount of time in South Africa.
Another cause of stress for undocumented Zimbabweans is living in fear of arrest and deportation.
In addition, newly arrived Zimbabweans especially may face difficulty navigating the cultural and language differences between Zimbabwe and South Africa.
<h2>Targeting by criminals</h2>
One serious issue is that of being targeted by criminals due to perceptions of being vulnerable.
Zimbabweans in South Africa may be seen as easy targets for crime because they are often living in poverty and may be unfamiliar with the area and its dangers.
Additionally, they may be reluctant to report crimes to the police due to fear of deportation or mistrust of the authorities. This can make them more susceptible to crimes such as theft, mugging, and extortion. It can also make them more vulnerable to human trafficking, as they may be lured by false promises of work and then forced into labor or prostitution.

The Difficult Life Of Zimbabwean Immigrants In South Africa

South African pressure Operation Dudula, which claims to be fighting illegal immigration, said its members will camp outside schools across Gauteng Province to prevent undocumented foreign children and teachers to be part of day one of school.
The schools across the province were scheduled to start their 2023 academic year on Wednesday, 11 January, following the festive break. Said Operation Dudula:
<blockquote>
As schools re-open Operation Dudula will be intensifying its efforts to clamp down on undocumented foreign kids and foreign teachers in schools, in order to make sure that SA kids are prioritised in Gauteng schools and to make teaching jobs accessible to South Africans.
</blockquote>
However, Operation Dudula did not specify which areas or schools they intend to pay a visit to. | <a href="https://www.thesouthafrican.com/news/operation-dudula-camp-outside-schools-11-january-2023/">The South African</a>

Operation Dudula Plans To Camp Outside Gauteng Schools

The Western Cape health department said that it is investigating claims made by Operation Dudula that Groote Schuur Hospital is only hiring illegal foreign nationals, while locals are sold jobs.
Operation Dudula members marched to the hospital on Saturday to hand over a memorandum.
The group alleged that Groote Schuur hospital only hires foreign nationals for positions such as cooks, porters, and even security vacancies.
The provincial health department’s spokesperson, Dr Saadiq Kariem, told <a href="https://www.enca.com/news/groote-schuur-hospital-wc-health-department-probe-dudula-allegations">eNCA</a> reporter, Nobesuthu Hejana, that this isn’t the first time they’ve heard such allegations. Said Kariem:
<blockquote>
Their concerns, we’ve accepted the memorandum and we understand what the concerns are, but what we’ll do from the hospital and provincial side is obviously investigate the concerns.
</blockquote>
Operation Dudula has given the hospital 14 days to take corrective action.

Operation Dudula Accuses SA Hospital Of Only Hiring Illegal Foreign Nationals

Operation Dudula, an anti-immigrant group in South Africa, claims that country’s government prioritises jobs and placements for foreign illegal nationals over South Africans.
On Wednesday, 12 October 2022, scores of Operation Dudula members marched to the Gauteng Department of Education in the Johannesburg CBD.
They were demanding employment opportunities for locally qualified unemployed educators.
Addressing the protesters, Operation Dudula’s National Coordinator Thabo Ngayo, said:
<blockquote>
We are unapologetic about that comrades, they can call us names or xenophobic. The law of this country is the law of the country.
We cannot allow lawlessness while we are watching. There are those coming from other countries turning ours into a banana country.
We can’t allow foreign nationals to do as they wish without even proper documents to come and work in our country.
</blockquote>
Operation Dudula gave Gauteng MEC for Education Matome Chiloane three weeks to adhere to their demands.
Chiloane told <a href="https://www.sabcnews.com/sabcnews/operation-dudula-march-against-the-hiring-of-foreign-teachers/">SABC News</a> that they will engage with Operation Dudula leadership to find common ground on issues that they raised. Said Chiloane:
<blockquote>
I think it is crucial to have a meeting with them. Firstly they said they’ve never met the department, so we will have a meeting with them.
And by the time we meet, we would have been able to prepare a response to their memorandum. So we would be able to give them a listen.
</blockquote>
In Limpopo Province, Operation Dudula marched to the offices of the Limpopo Department of Education in Polokwane and submitted a memorandum of demands.
Dudula demanded that children of undocumented nationals should not be admitted to public schools.
It also demanded that the Department should not provide financial assistance for learners whose parents are undocumented foreign nationals.
Dudula further demanded that Department should not employ teachers of foreign origin in public schools. Operation Dudula Limpopo Secretary Grace Mamonyamane, said:
<blockquote>
We have about 10 000 foreigners that are employed by the department of education nationally, so we know that our own are not getting jobs because the posts have been occupied by those foreigners.
</blockquote>
Limpopo Education Department’s Naphtali Molope promised to respond to the demands in due course. Said Molope:
<blockquote>
Because the intention was to deliver the memorandum to the MEC as it is addressed to her, we will take the memorandum to her as collective leadership, and we will respond to the issues they are raising.
</blockquote>

Operation Dudula Demands The Removal Of All Foreign Teachers

A South African anti-immigrant organisation, Operation Dudula in KwaZulu-Natal has demanded that transport operators stop hiring foreign national drivers following a road traffic accident that killed 21 people in Pongola, northern KwaZulu-Natal recently.
A truck, which was being driven by an undocumented foreign national according to Operation Dudula, collided with a bakkie transporting schoolchildren on Friday, killing 19 pupils, a teacher’s assistant and the bakkie driver.
Operation Dudula provincial chairperson Mfanafuthi Dumakude on Sunday said the organisation will visit the families and seek to help where they can. Said Dumakide:
<blockquote>
As Operation Dudula in the province, we want to get contact details of these families and the company (of the truck in the accident) and follow up on this matter.
From there we want to visit the families and see how we can make whatever donation to assist the families of the victims.
We have to make sure the company responsible for this accident must pay. If there are court cases to attend we will be there in support of the victims.
We can’t let this vanish in thin air like other similar incidents that were hot topics for a while and then died down later, as happened with people who killed others in Phoenix during the July 2021 unrest.
</blockquote>
The truck driver reportedly fled after the accident before being arrested on Sunday.
Dumakude claimed the driver was an undocumented foreign national adding that the labour department should be challenged on this issue. He said:
<blockquote>
It’s about time we, as an organisation that represents locals, look deeper into this and put pressure on the companies.
It’s one of the issues we want to fight, along with our alliance partners All Truck Drivers Forum in KwaZulu-Natal.
</blockquote>
The driver, Sibusiso Siyaya (28) appeared in the Pongola Magistrates’ Court on 21 counts of culpable homicide.
He will remain in custody until his next appearance on Monday, 26 September for a bail application. | <a href="https://www.timeslive.co.za/news/south-africa/2022-09-19-operation-dudula-targets-foreign-national-drivers-and-companies-that-hire-them-after-deadly-pongola-crash/">TimesLive</a>, <a href="https://www.news24.com/news24/southafrica/news/pongola-horror-crash-kzn-government-delegation-to-attend-truck-drivers-court-hearing-20220919">News24</a>

SA’s Operation Dudula Targets Foreign National Drivers

President <a href="https://www.pindula.co.zw/Emmerson_Mnangagwa">Emmerson Mnangagwa</a> has expressed concern over xenophobic attacks in South Africa which have often targeted African immigrants. 
His remarks, which come shortly before <a href="https://www.pindula.co.zw/Africa_Day">Africa Day</a>, follow the eruption of movements such as <a href="https://www.pindula.co.zw/Operation_Dudula">Operation Dudula</a> that are championing the “put South Africans first” mantra. 
 Writing in his weekly column in <a href="https://www.sundaymail.co.zw/be-wary-of-fake-nationalism-says-president">The Sunday Mail,</a> Mnangagwa said:
<blockquote>
Yet no white immigrants are affected, even though South Africa’s Economy largely remains in white and foreign hands, as is also the case in many African countries.
This is a racialised war of black African underdogs, couched as nationalism, a fight for servitude by equally disempowered Africans, whatever their countries of origin. This attacks the very heart and soul of our solidarity as Africans uniformly objectified by long colonialism.
</blockquote>
Movements such as Operation Dudula have been pushing anti-immigrant campaigns targeting mainly undocumented foreign nationals in South Africa. They have, however, in the past indiscriminately attacked foreigners, some with the required documents.
Many foreigners are living in fear following the death of <a href="https://news.pindula.co.zw/2022/05/12/elvis-nyathis-alleged-killers-back-in-court/">Elvis Nyathi, a Zimbabwean national who was tortured and burnt alive last month.</a>
Some have since returned to their countries.
Meanwhile, Africa Day, which is the annual commemoration of the foundation of the Organisation of African Unity on 25 May 1963, has for long been used as a day for Africans to celebrate the values of brotherhood and sisterhood in unity.
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