The Johannesburg High Court has struck off the roll an urgent application to stop the Dudula campaign by foreign nationals saying the matter is “not urgent”. The foreign nationals approached the court for relief against the campaign which targets foreign migrants who are trying to make a living in South Africa.
Judge Jabu Dlamini dismissed the application, saying that the application was not urgent. Dlamini raised concern over the application to ban the campaign when there is no march or gathering that is taking place against foreign nationals.
The group of 38 foreign nationals approached the court hoping that it would interdict the Dudula campaign which aims to chase foreign nationals out of the country. The applicants are all based in Gauteng and raised fears that the movement could spark xenophobic attacks on foreign nationals living in South Africa.
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Mabu Marweshe, the lawyer representing the applicants, argued that Dudula operated like a syndicate, and it is not known where the next attack will be. He added that the group is a law unto itself and does not respect the authorities who are supposed to be the enforcers of the law.
The movement has been making headlines in the past weeks as it targeted shops which are owned by foreign nationals. In Alexander township the movement targeted shop owners in the presence of the police. Scuffles broke out between foreign nationals and the Dudula members, luckily with no lives lost. The operations began in in Soweto last year and have spread to Alex, Johannesburg CBD and the East Rand.
Source: Sowetan Live, Times Live, image from Sowetan Live
