EFF in Gauteng files case against Operation Dudula after baby's death

The Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) in Gauteng has opened a criminal case against the Operation Dudula movement, accusing the group of inciting violence and unlawfully targeting foreign nationals in South Africa.

Gauteng police spokesperson Lieutenant Colonel Mavela Masondo yesterday confirmed that investigations are underway.

“Police have opened an inquiry docket for investigation. Once the investigation is complete, the docket will be taken to the National Prosecution Authority (NPA) for a decision,” said Masondo.

On Saturday, EFF Gauteng chairperson Nkululeko Dunga led supporters to the Alexandra Police Station, where the case was opened against Operation Dudula. According to the EFF, the case relates to the death of a one-year-old baby who was allegedly denied access to healthcare at a public health facility due to her nationality.

Reports indicate that the child’s mother, Malawian national Grace Banda, said she and her baby were turned away from the Alexandra Community Health Centre in July. She alleged that members of Operation Dudula blocked her from entering, insisting she could only access the premises after producing a South African identity document. The sick child later died.

Dunga told journalists that the child’s death amounted to murder. “If someone gets sick, and someone dies, and if they could be assisted there and there, it is not only negligence, they knew exactly what they were doing, and they eliminated a life of a one-year-old.

“So, we have opened a case of murder. It is up to the State to pick up and do the necessary investigations. In our minds, someone has passed on and that is a murder case.”

The traumatised child’s mother, according to Dunga, is now living in fear. The EFF further claims that several South Africans have also been denied access to healthcare facilities in Gauteng after being presumed to be foreign nationals.

Operation Dudula has frequently clashed with political parties, human rights groups, and foreign governments over its campaigns to remove undocumented migrants from communities, workplaces, and public services. Leaders of the movement argue they are not against all foreign nationals, but specifically undocumented migrants.

Operation Dudula leader Zandile Dabula has previously said that Operation Dudula was not calling for a blanket denial of treatment to all migrants, but for foreign nationals to pay for the services they use. “We are not saying they shouldn’t get medical treatment, we are saying they should go to public facilities and pay for it, or rather go to private facilities because these people are working – that is what they always claim,” Dabula had said.