Judge Stuart Wilson, in his ruling on Thursday, said: “I had to go no further than to direct the relevant organs of state to do what they are plainly obliged to do within existing legislation and policy. That is to act in a co-ordinate way to ensure access to the clinics.”

“The weakness of the state’s response to a well-organised attack on some of the most vulnerable people in our society is of grave concern,” he said. “I am under a duty to grant effective relief to remedy that shortcoming.”

The urgent matter was heard in late November, initiated by the Treatment Action Campaign, Médecins Sans Frontières and Kopanang Africa Against Xenophobia.

The respondents were the managers of the Yeoville and Rosettenville clinics, the City of Johannesburg, and local, provincial and national health and police authorities.

In an interim order, the government entities have now all been directed to take reasonable measures to ensure safe and unhindered physical access to the clinics, to put a stop to the vigilante blockades, to ensure that there are adequate numbers of security guards at entrances, and to report all incidents to the police. The applicants intend to also apply to the court for a final order which will cover all health facilities in Gauteng.

The police have been ordered to provide all necessary assistance to ensure compliance with the order.

The respondents must also file a report within 10 court days, detailing actions they have taken to comply with the interim order.

“Xenophobia is one of the greatest threats to democracy and human rights we presently face,” Judge Wilson said. “Leaving aside the fact that it feeds on that most toxic of human instincts – the hatred of the other – forgetting that it is animated by the fantasy that the presence of foreign nationals in South Africa immiserates the lives of its citizens and overlooking that, in its practised form, it is merely another kind of racism, the problem is its misdirection.”

“If we can blame foreigners we need not look to ourselves for solutions to the poverty and inequality that scar our society.”

The judge said the applicants had been getting complaints about the vigilante groups blocking access to the clinics by immigrants by demanding to see their identity documents.

“It appears that those blocking access rely on the passivity of the clinic staff. Security guards and frontlife staff and managers have done little or nothing,” Wilson said.

“On the papers, it seems that those blocking access have at times been allowed to operate from inside the clinics themselves, effectively taking over the security guards’ access control function.”

He said the government departments did not dispute these facts nor did they deny that conduct was unlawful.

“The health authorities contended that they have no direct responsibility or control over the clinics and they have no interest in what goes on outside the clinics’ gates.” In other words, said the judge, their lawyers had submitted that if vigilantes gathered outside to block access, the health authorities had no legal obligation to interfere.

“This position is so extraordinary, that I had to ask (the counsel) to explain it to me twice. When I had come to grips with it, I was satisfied that it is wholly misguided,” he said.

Wilson added, “If the vigilantes have overwhelmed the security guards (and there is little to suggest this on the papers) then security needs to be enhanced,” he said. “If the security guards are actively assisting the vigilantes because they are sympathetic to their aims, steps must be taken to discipline or replace them.”

SAPS had said it had now issued a national instruction “seeking to activate resources and co-ordinate plans” and had asked what else it could be expected to do. “The answer, it seems to me, is plain enough. Wrest control of the clinics from the hands of the vigilantes or show that it is beyond the capacity of the police, and other state roleplayers, to do so,” the judge said.

Wilson said whatever steps had been taken so far, had been completely ineffective, at least at the two clinics. He said the vigilantes were reported, but they were not prosecuted and the blockades carried on.

“It is undisputed that the harm is severe and ongoing. It seems to me that there has been no credible opposition to put up the interim relief.

“The applicants have a strong prima facie right to the final relief they seek – the adoption of effective measures to eradicate the activities of the vigilantes,” Judge Wilson said.

He gave the applicants leave to approach the court on the same papers for further action to enforce the order.

Written by Tania Broughton for GroundUp and republished with permission. The original article can be found here.

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A 2015 South African Police Service docket analysis, for example, found that nearly half (47.6%) of business robbery victims nationally were foreign nationals. In North West province, the percentage was as high as 77%. Foreign nationals are also disproportionately affected by public violence, kidnappings and township extortion.

Beneath these challenges lies a fractured relationship between police and many foreign national communities. Some accuse the government of state-sanctioned xenophobia, which sees officials and institutions, including the police, perpetuate bias and endorse abuse. Many foreign nationals report mistreatment, threats, extortion and neglect by state actors. Foreign nationals also tend not to join community policing structures, so lack opportunities to familiarise themselves with police.

Studies show that when people fear or distrust police, they are disincentivised to report crimes, share information or seek protection. This hampers investigations and allows offenders to operate with impunity. South African public safety agencies, such as the police, would benefit from strategies to improve trust and collaboration with foreign national communities.

Many crimes that have traditionally affected foreign nationals have also come to pose a threat to other members of the public. For example, extortion rackets now also target South African residents and government staff, and undermine local economies and basic service delivery.

Research shows that deploying strategies aimed at building trust with marginal groups can strengthen the police’s ability to tackle crime for the benefit of all. In the case of foreign nationals, these strategies require measures to overcome language barriers, cultural misunderstandings and historical distrust.

For example, a 2024 United States police research survey found that deploying community liaison officers to foreign national neighbourhoods helped build meaningful relationships. The officers formed part of specialised units who walked the streets, talking to business owners and residents, and hearing their concerns. This improved relationships and trust, and increased crime reporting by foreign nationals.

The United Kingdom (UK) College of Policing’s national guidelines on neighbourhood policing state that: ‘Community engagement should be broadly representative and look to involve people from marginal groups.’ It recommends that police proactively include such groups in neighbourhood policing by addressing language barriers and taking into account the needs and preferences of different communities.

Another promising strategy is the practice of secondary reassurance contact, where officers follow up with victims separately from the investigation. This can secure victims’ trust by providing reassurance that police take their cases seriously. A 2025 randomised control trial in the UK found that victim withdrawal from hate crime cases dropped by 12-15% as a result of the strategy. The practice of checking in with victims required minimal resources but had measurable effects.

The practice of procedural justice is also effective at building trust. This involves showing respect, care and fairness to individuals or groups during the course of police interactions. A 2021 study in Australia – where over 30% of the population is foreign-born – showed that the approach helped to foster stronger group identification among foreign nationals with both police and the country.

At the same time, research shows that when police don’t apply procedural justice in their interactions with foreign nationals, they not only erode police and government legitimacy but can also compromise investigations.

In particular, racial or citizenship profiling engenders feelings of unfair treatment and lower levels of trust. A 2020 study carried out in El Paso County, Texas, found that being stopped, searched and questioned about one’s citizenship status decreased the chances of an individual cooperating with police during an investigation by 62%.

This should be of concern to police in South Africa, who often carry out high-density operations in neighbourhoods where foreign nationals live or operate businesses. Foreign nationals frequently accuse police and other law enforcement officers involved in these operations of misconduct and abuse.

To better investigate and combat crime for all, South African police should use evidence-based approaches to develop strategies that build trust among foreign national communities. Similar methods could be applied in relation to other marginalised and excluded groups.

This is not only a rights obligation – it is a strategic investment in collective public safety. By deliberately removing barriers to engagement, police can build credibility and trust among foreign nationals, encouraging crime reporting and the sharing of critical information.

Such measures require supportive public sentiment and political leadership for the principle of inclusion. This would enable officers to make better strategic decisions and solve more cases, and in turn make South Africa safer.

Written by Vanya Gastrow, Senior Researcher, Justice and Violence Prevention, ISS Pretoria, and Kwakhanya Max, Research Intern, Justice and Violence Prevention, ISS.

Republished with permission from ISS Africa. The original article can be found here.

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They want xenophobic vigilantes, who are stopping immigrants and undocumented people from accessing health services, removed from gatekeeping at the clinics.

In heads of argument, SECTION27, representing the plaintiffs, said the various respondents in the City of Johannesburg, health departments, and the South African Police Service (SAPS) have “a collective duty to ensure safe and unhindered access to healthcare”.

“However, they have taken no meaningful and effective steps to protect access to these clinics, they have failed to implement any coordinated plans, and they have not responded to the applicants’ repeated demands for action.”

The applicants therefore seek a mandatory interdict requiring that the respondents

• take all reasonable measures to ensure safe access to the Yeoville and Rosettenville clinics;

• remove any unauthorised people hindering access at the health facilities’ premises;

• station adequate numbers of trained security guards at all access points;

• place public notices at all access points prohibiting unauthorised interference and stating that violators will be removed and reported to the police; and

• report all incidents of obstruction to SAPS, with the expectation that SAPS will provide all necessary assistance to ensure access to these facilities.

Part B of the case seeks a final interdictory relief with broader structural relief to address vigilantism in other healthcare institutions across Gauteng.

Operation Dudula

The court action follows numerous reports of xenophobic vigilante actions at dozens of clinics, with Rosettenville and Yeoville being “hot spots”.

Vigilantes have denied patients access to antiretroviral therapy (ART), immunisation of children, essential medication for the management of chronic diseases, and from getting referrals to provincial and national healthcare facilities.

SECTION27 said in a statement: “This hindrance affects everyone seeking medical assistance, including pregnant and lactating women, infants, and children – groups that are particularly dependent on continuous medical care.”

The organisations say the denial of access to healthcare affects the broader public, as untreated illnesses and disrupted medical treatment can have serious consequences for communities.

Gauteng High Court Judge Leicester Adams earlier this month granted an interdict preventing Operation Dudula members from demanding ID documents from members of the public.

The judge also directed the government to implement the National Action Plan to Combat Racism, Racial Discrimination, Xenophobia and related intolerances.

But Operation Dudula appears to have continued its xenophobic vigilantism in violation of the interdict.

SECTION27 argues that they are “not able to identify the vigilantes operating at the Yeoville and Rosettenville clinics and, even if their identities could be established, they are likely to be replaced by further, unknown individuals”.

It therefore seeks relief through the current application, since “only the respondents have the means and legal authority to demand that the vigilantes identify themselves, and to take effective action to remove them from their premises”.

The applicants noted that xenophobic vigilantes acted “in full view of security staff and even police officers who have failed to stop such actions. Security staff have also been observed assisting or collaborating with the unidentified individuals”.

Passing the buck

In responding heads of argument, the national and provincial health departments maintain they are “not directly involved in the management and administration of clinics”, which fall under the City of Johannesburg, and they were “inappropriately joined in these proceedings”.

In its response, SAPS maintained “that it has discharged its duty and will continue to do so as mandated by the constitution”, and “the applicants have failed to discharge the onus resting on them that the SAPS respondents have done nothing to investigate and arrest vigilantes.”

“Instead, the uncontroverted evidence is that the police have arrested, investigated and submitted dockets to the NPA for decisions to prosecute.”

In its heads of argument, SECTION27 said the respondents were engaged in an exercise of collective buck-passing.

“National and provincial governments blame the City of Johannesburg and the South African Police Service (SAPS). The SAPS in turn blames the victims for allegedly failing to report these unlawful acts. And the City said nothing at all, as it has failed to file any answering affidavits.”

“The City, as owner of the clinics, has the primary statutory power to confront and remove the vigilantes from its facilities. However, this will necessarily require the involvement of the SAPS and the support, assistance and oversight of the other respondents, should the City lack the resources or will to take effective action.”

Judgment was reserved and will be delivered to thdudulae parties via email next week.

Written by Kimberly Mutandiro for GroundUp and republished with permission. The original article can be found here.

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GroundUp spoke to immigrants who claim they have been blocked from accessing life-saving medicines at Johannesburg clinics. They accuse the anti-immigrant group Operation Dudula of blocking their access, sometimes in collaboration with clinic staff.

This is despite a court order preventing Operation Dudula from doing this.

To protect identities, we have used first names or pseudonyms.

Witness testimonies

Beauty, who has a 19-year-old daughter with HIV, says her daughter was chased away from Alberton Clinic by members of Operation Dudula. She claims Operation Dudula members checked IDs and her daughter was removed from the queue.

Beauty’s daughter was at the clinic to collect her antiretrovirals (ARVs). She says she will run out in two weeks.

Kudzai, who is 35, last received her ARVs and blood pressure pills from Spartan Clinic in Kempton Park in July. She had been attending the clinic since 2017 without any problems. When she went to the clinic last week, members of Operation Dudula turned her away before she could get her medicines, she says.

“I cannot die because some people are trying to gain attention through politics. I just want to live and take care of my children. If I die, who is going to take care of my kids?” said Kudzai.

She said the health department must urgently intervene to make sure no one is denied access to life-saving medication.

Chenai is nine. She has been taking ARVs since she was six. Her mother, Janet, claims Chenai was receiving her medicines from Charlotte Maxeke Hospital until Operation Dudula members started standing at the hospital three months ago, preventing immigrants from accessing care. Janet says she now has to buy ARVs from a pharmacy for herself and Chenai, and then only when she has money.

“When her medicine runs out, she goes for days without ARVs until I manage to get money. Operation Dudula members should have a heart because even children are suffering,” said Janet. Her and Chenai’s current stock of ARVs will soon run out.

Cathrine has been collecting ARVs from the Jeppe Street clinic. But for three months, she has struggled to access her medication because Operation Dudula has been blocking her, she says. She managed to buy ARVs from a pharmacy once. She sometimes skips doses so that her pills last longer.

“We should not be denied ARVs, because without them we will die,” said Cathrine.

We went to clinics to see for ourselves

I visited Spartan clinic and the clinic at the Kempton Park civic centre on Thursday. I visited Rosettenville and Alberton North clinics on Friday.

At the Spartan Clinic a woman in plain clothes sat next to a security guard at the clinic gate, checking IDs of every person who went into the clinic. Most people who went in had South African IDs. Later in the day, Kudzai went into the clinic, past both the woman and the security guard. Both the woman checking IDs and the security guard followed her and instructed her to get out. They told her only people with South African IDs were allowed to get inside the clinic. In a short while another security guard joined and they all started shouting for the woman to leave the clinic.

I approached the security guards and the woman who was checking IDs and identified myself as a reporter. I asked why they chased Kudzai away, when she desperately needs ARVs.

They answered that “a new rule” had been passed by the community that only South African citizens are allowed to attend the clinic and that all foreign nationals should be chased away, regardless of what their illness is.

When asked if clinic staff approved of the “new rule,” they said management inside the clinic would confirm the truth of what they had said. Up to three other people had also gathered at the gate.

One member of staff who had come out of the clinic revealed that the woman checking IDs and others standing at the gate were from Operation Dudula and that the clinic had been instructed not to treat foreigners. When we asked if the Department of Health approved of this, the woman said the matter was “political and beyond the clinic’s control”.

I asked if they were aware that some of the people being chased away were on ARVs. The staff member repeated that the clinic had been instructed by members of Operation Dudula to turn immigrants away.

The patient added that she and other foreign nationals were being chased away from the same clinic and one at the Kempton Park civic center daily. She said many people in desperate need of care were now afraid to approach the two clinics.

At the Kempton Park civic centre clinic we found people already inside the clinic. Two car guards told us that Operation Dudula had already checked IDs early in the morning before the clinic opened.

At Rosettenville clinic on Friday two women sat outside the clinic checking IDs. A security guard standing behind the clinic gate said everyone had to pass through the women before going inside the clinic. The two women said only South African ID holders were allowed inside the clinic and not foreign nationals.

“All foreigners should either go to private doctors or go back and fix their countries. We no longer have enough medication in our clinic because of foreigners,” said one woman.

The two said immigrants were not allowed in the clinic with or without legal documents and regardless of what medication they were taking.

While the two women did not admit to being members of Operation Dudula, immigrant informal traders selling fruits and vegetables near the clinic said the women were members of Operation Dudula, wearing ordinary clothes (instead of the uniform that Dudula members wear).

Both women said the decision to chase foreign nationals from the clinic had been decided upon by the community.

At the Alberton North clinic in Johannesburg South, where Beauty’s daughter used to take her medication, two women in green reflective vests sat at the clinic entrance. They said all foreigners with different illnesses should go to the Unjani Clinic in Germiston for free treatment or to Dischem, Clicks, or private facilities if willing to pay. When asked where the decision comes from, they said it was a decision made by both the clinic and the community.

The women did not admit to being members of operation Dudula, but immigrants who spoke to us nearby said they were Operation Dudula members.

“We have been told that the clinic does not have enough medication to give foreigners. Some foreigners we referred to Unjani Clinic reported to us that they managed to get help there,” said one of the two women.

A web search indicated that Unjani Clinic charges a R300 fee.

Court order

Kopanang Africa Against Xenophobia, the South African Informal Traders Forum, the Inner City Federation, and Abahlali BaseMjondolo went to court to interdict Operation Dudula from denying access to health care to immigrants.

On 4 November the Gauteng High Court in Johannesburg ruled in their favour and stopped Operation Dudula from demanding ID documents from members of the public and from preventing foreign nationals from accessing health care.

Mike Ndlovu from KAAX says the organisation has since received numerous complaints of immigrants being harassed or turned away at clinics, mostly in Gauteng and KwaZulu-Natal and to a lesser extent from Limpopo and Mpumalanga.

“Our own monitoring and reports from partners like Doctors Without Borders (MSF) confirm it. MSF’s recent assessment found patients being turned away from more than half of the health facilities they visited in Gauteng,” said Ndlovu.

“The accounts are distressing: people living with HIV have gone for weeks without medication,” Ndlovu said, adding that the actions of Operation Dudula are in contempt of court. He called for the court ruling to be enforced.

We asked Operation Dudula

GroundUp put the witness testimonies to Zandile Dabula, leader of Operation Dudula, over WhatsApp before we visited the clinics. (Dabula is herself explicitly interdicted by the 4 November ruling.)

“May thy produce proof that those people are from Operation Dudula since you know even ordinary citizens have joined the struggle outside our mandate,” she responded.

We explicitly asked her if she denied Operation Dudula has been preventing immigrants from accessing health services since the court ruling. She did not answer.

The 4 November court order says that Operation Dudula has to communicate the order to their members. So we asked Dabula if and how this had been done. She did not answer.

After I visited the clinics, GroundUp sent questions to Dabula asking if she was aware that Dudula members were blocking access to clinics. She did not answer.

Department of Health Responds

National Department of Health spokesperson Foster Mohale said the department is not aware of Operation Dudula’s current actions.

“If it is happening, it means they are deliberately breaking the law and undermining the court ruling, which is a serious offence,” said Mohale.

He said the department needs evidence to prove that some clinic staffers are denying people without IDs access to healthcare, including ARVs, to take action against the implicated officials.

“Anyone who breaks the law must be reported to law enforcement agencies, including police,” he added.

Order of the Gauteng High Court

Here is an extract of the order by Judge Leicester Adams in the Gauteng High Court on 4 November.

1) It be and is hereby declared that only an immigration officer or a police officer has the power in terms of section 41 of the Immigration Act 13 of 2002 to demand that another private person produce her / his passport or other identity documents to demonstrate her / his right to be in the Republic of South Africa and that no private person has the power to do so unless expressly so authorised by law.

(2) The first respondent, the eleventh and twelfth respondents be and are hereby interdicted and restrained from demanding that any private person produce her / his passport or other identity documents to demonstrate her / his right to be in the Republic.

(3) The first respondent, the eleventh and the twelfth respondents be and are hereby interdicted and restrained from: –

(a) Intimidating, harassing and/or assaulting any individuals that they identify as being foreign nationals;

(b) Making public statements that constitute hate speech on the grounds of nationality, social origin or ethnicity at public gatherings, on social media platforms or in any other way;

(c) Interfering with the access of foreign nationals to health care services and/or their right to such access;

(d) Interfering with access to, or the operations of, schools and intimidating or harassing learners, teachers or parents at schools;

(e) Unlawfully evicting foreign nationals from their homes;

(f) Unlawfully removing foreign nationals from their trading stalls or interfering with the employment of foreign nationals in shops and businesses;

(g) Instigating, encouraging or inciting any other person to perform any of the acts prohibited by this order, on social media, at gatherings in terms of the Regulation of Gatherings Act 205 of 1993, or in any other way;

(4) The first respondent be and is hereby ordered and directed to
communicate this order to any and/or all of its office-bearers and
members.

Written by Kimberly Mutandiro for GroundUp and republished with permission. The original article can be found here.

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Gauteng High Court Judge Leicester Adams, in a ruling on Tuesday 4 November, also granted an interdict preventing Operation Dudula members from demanding ID documents from members of the public.

He directed the government to implement the National Action Plan to Combat Racism, Racial Discrimination, Xenophobia and related intolerances.

But the judge refused to declare that the South African Police Service (SAPS) had breached its constitutional duties to combat and investigate related crimes and said there was no evidence that either SAPS or the Department of Home Affairs (DHA) was “colluding” with Operation Dudula.

The matter before him was brought by Kopanang Africa Against Xenophobia, the South African Informal Traders Forum, the Inner City Federation, and Abahlali BaseMjondolo, in what they described as a challenge to the xenophobic and racist speech and conduct of Operation Dudula and some of its office-bearers.

The litigation was launched in a two-part application. In February last year, the court granted the order sought in Part A, which prohibits the naming of about 40 people who gave affidavits about what they had witnessed or experienced at the hands of Operation Dudula.

Part B was argued before Adams in the high court in Johannesburg earlier this year.

The human rights organisations allege that Operation Dudula has harassed and intimidated people by demanding to verify identity documents, forced business to close, prevented informal traders from operating, evicted people from their homes without a court order, worn uniforms resembling the police or military, and denied people access to health care and education.

This is without any authority and in violation of people’s rights, they say.

Operation Dudula did not participate in the case. It noted on social media that it had been served with the papers but said it would not oppose the application. It tried to intervene later and asked for a postponement of the matter, but this was refused.

In his ruling, Adams said human dignity had no nationality.

“It is the case of the applicants, in a nutshell, that Operation Dudula and its members have, on a constant and consistent basis, made themselves guilty of unlawful conduct, which falls foul of the Constitution,” he said.

“They also contend that the South African government is complicit in such unlawful conduct … at the very least it has woefully failed in its constitutional and legal obligations to take reasonable and effective steps to address the unlawful conduct and the broader threat of xenophobia in our society.”

The judge said SAPS denied the allegations against it. But the police did accept that only immigration or police officers have the power to demand that a person must produce his or her identity document.

The DHA also denied any collusion with Operation Dudula.

The judge said xenophobia was a serious threat to human rights, as had been acknowledged in the national action plan and by the government in its decision to bind itself to a range of relevant international treaties.

“The undisputed evidence before me indicates that since 2021, Operation Dudula has emerged as one of the most visible and violent proponents of xenophobia, targeting foreign nationals. In isiZulu, Dudula means to force out. Its members have engaged in violent and unlawful activities across the Gauteng province.”

Detailing a range of incidents, the judge said there was a common pattern, inciting hatred against foreign nationals on public platforms and blaming them for “all manner of social ills”.

He said members of Operation Dudula had taken the law into their own hands and there was a danger of future harm if the organisation was not stopped.

This, he said, was borne out by the fact that since being served with the application, Operation Dudula’s members had continued to act unlawfully.

As a result, he said, he would grant the interdict.

On the issue of its members “wearing military style uniforms”, Adams said the uniforms did not bear the distinctive mark or crest of an SANDF uniform. For this reason he declined to order that they be banned from wearing them.

Turning to the national action plan, the judge wrote that the applicants had said it had been more than five years since its adoption but critical aspects had not been implemented.

The plan specifically emphasised the need for proper monitoring, data collection and an effective response to acts of xenophobic violence.

He said the government and the DHA offered “very little by way of resistance” to the request that he direct the government to take reasonable steps to implement the plan.

“The high watermark of the DHA’s grounds of opposition is to the effect that the government bears no responsibility for the implementation of the plan. As contended by the applicants, this is an astounding approach to adopt,” the Judge said, noting that the plan “explicitly places the burden of implementation on the shoulders of government”.

For this reason, he ordered the government to implement the plan.

But Adams declined to take issue with what was alleged to be “police inaction”, saying the police had acted reasonably to deal with matters relating to foreign nationals.

On the allegation of “collusion”, Adams said SAPS had admitted that it had previously escorted Operation Dudula members on some of their “missions”, explaining that where SAPS is requested to escort a march or protest, it had an obligation to do so to ensure peace.

The DHA had also admitted that it had communicated and met with Operation Dudula members.

He said the matter was a “factual inquiry”, and there was no clear evidence before him to factually conclude any collusion.

Adams also clarified the powers of SAPS and DHA officials with regard to the Immigration Act, declaring that

it does not authorise warrantless searches in private places;
an officer must hold a reasonable suspicion that a person is unlawfully in South Africa before requesting them to identify themselves; and
it does not permit interrogation, arrest and detention of children, except as a measure of last resort and in a manner consistent with the Constitution.
He ordered Operation Dudula and the government respondents to pay the costs of the application.

Written by Tania Broughton for GroundUp and republished with permission. The original article can be found here.

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The “revenge attacks” by a group of men were triggered by the murder of a South African man on the weekend, allegedly by an immigrant. The mob went from house to house on Sunday, kicking immigrant families out of their homes.

At least 30 Zimbabweans were injured during the attacks and 17 are still in hospital, according to the Embassy of Zimbabwe. Four men have died, says the South African Police Service (SAPS).

The SAPS Serious and Violent Crimes Unit is investigating, said police spokesperson Majola Nkohli on Thursday.

“The situation in Addo is still tense. Police are continuing to maintain high visibility patrols in the area,” said Nkohli.

Some families have been staying at the Addo police station, too afraid to return to their homes. Hundreds of others have been evacuated to a church hall in Gqeberha. The church has requested not to be named for safety concerns.

Dennis Makolo arrived there on Thursday morning after being discharged from hospital. But he was still disoriented when GroundUp spoke to him and could not remember the hospital he was in or how he ended up at the church hall.

He said he was beaten by a “violent mob” and now wants to find work outside of Addo. “I have bad memories of the area.”

Anyway Hlungwani, who was beaten up with crowbars, is still in immense pain. His face is still swollen, his head wound stitched up, and he has sores all over his body.

“The truth is that I don’t want to hear anything about Valencia. I was beaten for nothing … Had it not been for my wife, who bravely intervened, I could be dead by now,” he said.

Hlungwani’s wife, Everjoy Chipangura, said that if they had enough money, they would have boarded the next bus to Zimbabwe. “I don’t want my child to grow up in a hostile environment. We have to start a new life again, but elsewhere,” she said.

But others staying in the hall said they cannot return to Zimbabwe and want to go back home to Valencia.

“This is the first such incident in the area,” said one man. “I have worked on several farms in the Sundays River Valley area for nearly 20 years, but I haven’t experienced this type of threat.”

“The reason why we are all here is the economic turmoil of Zimbabwe. There are no jobs. I will go back to Valencia once the police tell us that the situation has improved.”

Chairman of the Zimbabwe Migrants Support Network, Chris Mapingure, said that donations of food, clothing and toiletries are urgently needed.

“We’re glad to have received amazing support from individuals, Gift of the Givers, businesses and government departments.”

Written by Joseph Chirume for GroundUp and republished with permission. The original article can be found here.

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