Nigerians residing in South Africa have cried out over renewed xenophobic threats from a notorious anti-migrant movement known as Operation Dudula.
Community leaders said the group has intensified harassment and attacks on foreigners, including attempts to bar them from accessing public hospitals.
They are now calling on the Nigerian government and the international community to urgently intervene before the situation escalates into another round of deadly violence.
Reports indicate that Operation Dudula has been at the forefront of coordinated intimidation of migrants since the beginning of the year.
Concerns are mounting that the group’s activities could trigger a repeat of the violent xenophobic outbreaks that claimed lives in previous years.
SaharaReporters earlier reported how the anti-immigrant group, Operation Dudula, in July sparked public outrage after its members were caught on video blocking access to a government hospital and denying entry to anyone unable to prove South African citizenship.
In a viral video posted online, Operation Dudula members were seen stationed at the entrance of the Roodepoort Clinic, west of Johannesburg, confronting patients and demanding ID documents before allowing them inside.
“You cannot enter this hospital without showing your ID to prove you are South African,” one of the Operation Dudula enforcers barked at patients.
The disturbing footage shows several Black African patients visibly agitated, confronting the group for what they described as shameless discrimination against fellow Africans.
“Why are you people here? Who put you here? Is this your father’s hospital?” one man seeking to access the clinic was heard yelling.
In separate interviews with PUNCH, leaders of Nigerian groups and affected residents shared harrowing accounts of their ordeals, warning that the situation had reached a disturbing level.
The President of the Nigerian Citizens Association in South Africa, Frank Onyekwelu, condemned the development, describing it as yet another wave of xenophobic attacks deliberately targeted at foreign nationals.
“We have cried out at this ill-treatment, which we see as another form of xenophobic attack, as they are expressing hate and injustice against foreign nationals. We are not happy with it,” he said.
Onyekwelu said the Nigerian community had already reached out to political groups and immigration bodies to express concerns.
He urged both governments to intervene diplomatically.
The community leader narrated disturbing cases, including women giving birth on bare floors outside hospitals without medical care, and patients being discharged without treatment.
“Imagine a woman giving birth on a bare floor in an open space in front of a hospital without getting any antenatal care and the assistance of a midwife.
“Some patients are being forcefully discharged from hospitals without proper treatment and care. What if it is a life-and-death situation? Some of them would just die like chickens,” he lamented.
He disclosed that while those who could afford it were being encouraged to seek help in private clinics, Nigerian doctors had stepped in to assist victims pending when the crisis would be resolved.
The President of the Nigerian Union in South Africa, Smart Nwobi, also condemned the continuous harassment of Nigerians and other foreign nationals by members of Operation Dudula.
Nwobi stated that the situation had reached an alarming level as he cited a recent case involving a nursing mother who was barred from taking her baby for immunisation at a public hospital.
“I got a disturbing call this morning from another lady. She just gave birth to a baby, so she went to the hospital to get immunised. She had an appointment with the doctor at the clinic. But members of Operation Dudula barred her from entering the hospital.
“It is really alarming. We are appealing to the government to deploy security agents to protect public facilities so that criminals will not continue taking the law into their hands,” he said.
According to him, the group is not an official arm of government but a coalition of natives who accuse foreigners of depriving South Africans of opportunities.
He noted, however, that some of those spearheading the campaign were not even South Africans by birth.
“For instance, the young man you saw in the viral video chasing foreigners out of the hospital is a South African by descent and Nigerian by birth. He has dual citizenship.
“According to these people, if you can’t speak the South African language, you are not a citizen of the country. But they have forgotten that you can be a citizen by naturalisation,” he added.
