13 August 2025 | 11:45 CAT
1-minute read

Image: The Guardian

South Africa faces a deepening crisis as Operation Dudula, an anti-immigrant group, continues its campaign to deny undocumented migrants access to public healthcare—a move that defies constitutional protections and threatens public health integrity.

Loren Landau, Professor of Migration and Development at the University of Oxford and Research Professor at Wits’ African Centre for Migration and Society, in an interview on Radio Islam International, warned that this isn’t grassroots protest—it’s a creeping institutionalisation of xenophobia. He observed that Operation Dudula has effectively started “running intake at hospitals,” a development fraught with legal and ethical peril.

Despite mounting concern, the group has confirmed a scheduled meeting with Health Minister Aaron Motsoaledi to discuss their self-appointed oversight of healthcare access.

Yet, their actions fly in the face of South African law: anyone with a life-threatening condition—or even less acute, essential medical needs—cannot be denied treatment, regardless of documentation status.

As Professor Landau stated, “We’re all safer if our neighbor is getting the treatment … deserves and is constitutionally entitled to.”

Médecins Sans Frontières has previously intervened when Operation Dudula supporters blocked clinic access, reaffirming that healthcare is a basic human right enshrined in the constitution.

The political and economic motivations behind Operation Dudula’s actions extend beyond surface-level anti-immigrant rhetoric.

“It is a diversion, it does create money for people clearly and it’s helping to strengthen the sort of political entities that they seem to be linked to,” Professor Landou said.

Professor Landau urged immediate action: not token condemnation, but the arrest and prosecution of group leaders and any healthcare workers who enable or condone these discriminatory acts—a necessary step to uphold both public safety and constitutional values.

Listen to the full interview on Sabaahul Muslim with Muallimah Annisa Essack.