In April, criminologist and lecturer Dr Guy Lamb of Stellenbosch University already likened Operation Dudula to the People Against Gangsterism and Drugs (Pagad) group formed in 1996 in the Cape Flats.
The group started out as a community organisation but soon morphed into a vigilante group linked to acts of arson, murder and planting bombs around Cape Town.
Its initial motive was good — a pushback against the gangsterism and drugs plaguing the Cape Flats.
Lamb said Dudula was happening in certain areas but had the potential to build into something bigger, “with a contagious effect as we saw in 2008”.
The May 2008 xenophobia riots left 62 people dead, including 21 South Africans.
And this is where groups such as Operation Dudula should raise red flags.
At the weekend, the organisation started flexing its muscle in the Western Cape. Not attracting huge crowds, not making too much noise — but it would be shortsighted to ignore it.
Even documented migrants doing menial jobs in SA will not be spared, said the movement’s national secretary, Zandile Dubula.
“But now we have learnt that the ministers have said that local businesses are only for South Africans. The other thing is that even if you are legal in the country, if [you do not have] a scarce skill then you cannot be working. Now, it is illegal and legal immigrants. If you are legal here, you are not supposed to be working in a restaurant. Working in a restaurant doesn’t require any special skill.”
Dangerous noises.
There have been many reports about how this organisation (Operation Dudula) functions. We firmly believe that, as with all entities and organisations, it is important that it functions within the ambit of the law.
— MEC for community safety and police oversight Reagan Allen
If left unchecked, we might be heading to a situation of being shocked and surprised if this organisation in the not too distant future has grown into a beast too big and difficult to control, greedily feeding on the desperation of a nation plagued by unemployment and economic hardship.
Even MEC for community safety and police oversight Reagan Allen’s response seemed to signal a wait-and-see approach with Operation Dudula launching in the Western Cape.
“There have been many reports about how this organisation functions. We firmly believe that, as with all entities and organisations, it is important that it functions within the ambit of the law,” he said.
“It’s vital to have a vibrant society that participates in our democratic processes, but the law should always be upheld, and if any organisation fails to work within the ambit of the law, decisive action will be taken.”
The group has already shown it doesn’t easily back off.
“F*kof,” was how police minister Bheki Cele was greeted by the Pimville community in Soweto in April, after Kgomotso Vincent Diale, a father of two, was killed at the Chicken Farm informal settlement two days before.
Diale, 44, was killed and others wounded after Operation Dudula members and Pimville community members met so-called foreign nationals in Kliptown, Soweto.
Operation Dudula leader Nhlanhla Lux said at the time residents were en route to meet and “protect” workers installing electricity cables after cable thieves caused recent continuous blackouts throughout Pimville.
Then there was the death of 43-year-old Elvis Nyathi, a Zimbabwean gardener and father of four who was killed by a group going through homes in Diepsloot on April 8, demanding documents. He was beaten to death and burnt.
Now is the time for authorities to take note of Lamb’s warning: “Dudula is gaining momentum, with a useful comparison to Pagad in the 1990s. They started by lobbying as an anti-crime group but then committed acts of vigilantism — taking the law into their own hands.”
Dear law enforcement agencies, let it never be said that when the warning was sounded, you chose to look the other way.
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