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.

Pindula News

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

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

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

The members of Operation Dudula, a South African movement opposed to the influx of foreign nationals into the country, on Saturday 27 August, marched to shops in Johannesburg demanding that foreigners must leave.
Operation Dudula accuses immigrants, especially those who entered the country illegally, of taking their jobs and committing crimes like gang-raping, murder and armed robbery.
Speaking during the protest on Saturday in Johannesburg, Operation Dudula leader Nhlanhla Lux said all foreigners must go back and fix their countries. Said, Lux:
<blockquote>
When I am looking here, it is all foreign nationals, they are occupying what we deserve in our country, we fought for this country, we fought for this freedom.
There are too many people who died here, we cannot allow you, people, to come into our country and treat our country in a mess.
This country is a country of love, and we are telling all foreign nationals that starting today you must go fix your countries. There is no war in your countries, why are you coming to our country?
You are criminals in our country, you are destroying our country, if you are not doing human trafficking, you are doing hijacking and you cannot do all of that in your own countries.
If your countries are saying Zimbabweans for Zimbabweans why not us South Africa for South Africans, we are saying Nigeria for Nigerians, Mozambique for Mozambicans.
</blockquote>
The Zimbabwean government estimates that about 1.5 million Zimbabweans live in South Africa either legally or illegally but observers put the number at at least 3 million.
Last week, Limpopo Health MEC Phophi Ramathuba berated a Zimbabwean woman who was seeking medical treatment at a local hospital.
More: <a href="https://www.newzimbabwe.com/if-zimbabwe-is-for-zimbabweans-so-is-south-africa-operation-dudula-demands-that-foreigners-leave/">NewZimbabwe.com</a>

Operation Dudula Demands That Foreigners Leave And Fix Their Countries

There are fears that more Zimbabweans living in neighbouring South Africa could be in danger of xenophobic attacks as Operation Dudula has spread to Durban and other areas.
Operation Dudula is an anti-African immigrant movement in South Africa led by Nhlanhla “Lux” Dlamini, whose real name is Ntlantla Mohlauhi.
The activists blame undocumented foreigners, particularly Zimbabweans, for the high crime and unemployment rates in South Africa and are pushing for all illegal immigrants to leave.
South African television channel, eNCA recently reported that Operation Dudula was extending its branches to other provinces with its first launch being in KwaZulu Natal.
Zimbabwean national, Mbodazwe Banajo “Elvis” Nyathi, was killed and set on fire by vigilantes in Diepsloot, Johannesburg
on Wednesday last week, the day Lux visited the area.
Local political analysts say the spread of Operation Dudula to other provinces in South Africa is worrisome. Analyst Rejoice Ngwenya said:
<blockquote>
Our countrymen can only be safe if vigilante groups like Dudula are immediately disbanded.
The SA government and the SA police (SAP) cannot continue to condone the wanton abuse of rights.
What this really means is that we now also have a right to wage war against anything South African in Zimbabwe.
If the South Africans don’t value our lives, why should we value our business co-operation?
South African President Cyril Ramaphosa is in denial and his high sounding rhetoric counts for nothing until he directly confronts Dudula as another loss of life cannot be tolerated.
</blockquote>
Another political analyst, Vivid Gwede, said regional leaders should come together to address the challenges in both South Africa and Zimbabwe. He said:
<blockquote>
Operation Dudula and its attendant fallout of xenophobic violence are inexcusable on the part of the people and government of South Africa.
Equally, there should be a reflection in the whole of SADC on how to deal with historical inequalities in South Africa, poor economic performance and political problems in countries like Zimbabwe and the challenges of scarce economic opportunity and migration.
</blockquote>
South Africa President Cyril Ramaphosa said the ruling African National Congress (ANC) cannot support <a href="https://www.pindula.co.zw/Operation_Dudula">Operation Dudula</a>, describing the movement as a “vigilante-like force”.
He accused the group of trying to divide African people.
<h4>More: <a href="https://www.newsday.co.zw/2022/04/growing-concerns-as-operation-dudula-spreads/">NewsDay</a></h4>

Expansion Of Operation Dudula Worrisome

<a href="https://www.pindula.co.zw/Operation_Dudula">Operation Dudula</a>, which started in Soweto in 2021 before spreading to inner Johannesburg and Hillbrow, has now moved to the Ekurhuleni area, east of Johannesburg.
The operation is targetting undocumented foreign nationals who own shops or are involved in hawking in the streets of South Africa.
On Saturday, scores of community members from Ekurhuleni gathered in Daveyton ahead of Operation Dudula demonstrations, with some of them carrying South African flags.
Speaking to eNCA before the march, the head of the Ekurhuleni operation, Dennis Molefe said they want illegal foreign nationals to close their shops. He said:
<blockquote>
Today we are going to be launching our Ekurheleni Operation Dudula. After that, we are going to have a small demonstration around Daveyton where we will be introducing ourselves to other sectors.
We are going to go to the Daveyton CBD where we have already approached the people who are illegal foreigners and are hawkers there, and some people who are owning shops and sell illegal substances.
We are going to go to those shops and demand that they close down, especially scrap yards and so forth.
… We see that the illegal people are not just coming here to take our jobs but our businesses too.
There are also crimes committed by illegal people and they are not easily traced.
</blockquote>
Molefe said they decided to take matters into their own hands after their pleas for the SA Revenue Service (SARS) and the Ekurhuleni metro police to deal with illegal foreign nationals operating businesses in Daveyton and Benoni fell on deaf ears.
He said it is the duty of the metro police to enforce street-vending bylaws, while SARS is supposed to ensure businesses were tax compliant.
<h4>More: <a href="https://www.timeslive.co.za/news/south-africa/2022-03-12-operation-dudula-reaches-ekurhuleni-as-locals-target-illegal-immigrants/">Sunday Times</a></h4>

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