Protests under the banner of Operation Dudula have again rocked the streets of South Africa against illegal migrants in the country.
The protesters gathered at the weekend in their hundreds, wielding the country’s flags while chanting songs against foreigners who according to them have taken their jobs.
The group repeatedly claimed that many young citizens have qualifications but have turned to drugs and alcohol because they cannot get good jobs, Daily Maverick reports.
Operation Dudula also claims that foreign nationals are to blame for the high crime levels in Hillbrow.
Dudula members sang anti-foreigner songs, groups of foreign nationals held hushed discussions from a safe distance, some of them looking visibly frightened.
“It’s a very scary moment,” a Zimbabwean national Mqondisi Dube, told Daily Maverick.
Police on February 12 dispersed a gathering by Operation Dudula using tear gas, rubber bullets and stun grenades.
The police said the group had not sought permission for the march and the group vowed to return after securing permission to march a week later.
Many foreign nationals living in South Africa have been apprehensive following the recent killing of a Nigerian, Nicolas Omodele.
Omodele was killed in a violent attack by a crime-fighting group at Galeshewe in the Northern Cape. He died of his injuries at the Robert Sobukwe Hospital in Kimberley after he was assaulted over the weekend for allegedly buying a stolen laptop.
Omodele and his close friend were beaten with sticks and other objects by the crime-fighting group. The police were called in, and Omodele was taken to hospital where he was declared brain-dead before he later died.
South Africans have a history of violence against other African nationals living in their country, accusing them of taking their jobs.
