Foreign nationals desperate for healthcare say they are being turned away from clinics by Operation Dudula members if they don't have identity documents or are made to wait until South Africans are assisted first. 

On Tuesday morning, Bheki Ndlovu left his house early so he could be at  the Diepsloot Ext 7 Clinic at 6.30am to collect his ARVs. However, Ndlovu, 45, was still on the queue outside the gate hours later as a group of people claiming to be members of Dudula barred him and other migrants from entering the clinic. 

“They told us we can’t get in at all if we didn’t have our papers. And imagine people like me who need ARVs... It means they are sentencing us to death," he said. 

“There were at least more than 100 people standing in this queue but as the day went by, they left because there was no movement. I can’t afford that,” he said. 

Another patient, Bekezela Ncube, 46, had been waiting since 7am with her five-year-old child. “My child was told by the school she attends that she needs to get flu shots and I need my ARVs. But they don’t care and don’t want us to go in. This is not fair, the Constitution does allow us to get health services but we are being blocked from that,” Ncube said. 

However, a foreign national woman who allegedly collapsed while still queuing was quickly carried into the clinic.

Locals said they were worried about the division Dudula operation would cause in the community, which may also spark xenophobic attacks.

"I fear it will escalate like what happened during the xenophobia attacks. Our worry is about African migrants, women who are pregnant. If they can’t go to health facilities, we are going to have more deaths,” Innocent Jeke said.

Operation Dudula’s Gauteng coordinator Tholakele Ntwanyana admitted they were screening people as they wanted South Africans to be served first. “We are not even turning them away or attacking them. We don’t deny them medication, we allow some to go inside at intervals, but we must give South Africans first preference,” she said. 

According to Ntwanyana, neither the police nor the  department of health were stopping them.

"They (department of health) were here on Wednesday and they wanted to meet us and we did. No authority has removed us from here and we will continue to do it ... it’s already moving nationwide,” she said. 

However Gauteng department of health spokesperson Motalatale Modiba said they gave no such approvals. 

“No community member or structure has a right to prevent others from accessing healthcare services. This goes against the Constitution. The department can never support acts that undermine the laws of the land."

He said such incidents are usually reported to police. 

“This issue is beyond health and requires multiple stakeholders at a civil society level and in government  to work together to address it,” he said. 

Gauteng police spokesperson Col Dimakatso Nevhuhulwi said so far the only complaints they have received were from Hillbrow Clinic.

Police confirmed receiving reports from Hillbrow on Monday after  a group of people was reportedly checking patients’ ID and blocking them access. The group dispersed peacefully."

On Wednesday, Dudula swopped in again at Hillbrow Clinic, denying migrants entry. However, police were called and they quickly responded and ensured the foreign nationals were allowed entry into the clinic.

Dudula national executive council member Simphiwe Shabangu told Sowetan that anyone who does not have an ID book or passport must go and receive healthcare at private institutions.

"Our public healthcare facilities are overwhelmed by these people. They go to different clinics asking for medication to send back to their families in their home countries at the expense of South Africans. In March, a Mzansi Express bus en route to Zimbabwe was found with a lot of medical supplies, showing there are syndicates collecting medication from SA to Zimbabwe.

"If they can afford to come here illegally, I'm sure they can afford private doctors."

However, a 31-year-old Zimbabwean man told Sowetan he could not afford a private doctor hence he was at the clinic.

"Back in my home country medical care is there but there is no medication. Not all of us are illegal, we work and live here. Where are we supposed to go for healthcare?"

Kopanang Africa Against Xenophobia's Dale Mckinley accused the police and the department of health of not doing enough to stop Dudula from barring migrants from accessing healthcare centres. As a result, he said, some South Africans who may not be documented for whatever reason find themselves caught up in Dudula's "illegal" operations.

Kopanang Africa Against Xenophobia and other organisations representing the rights of migrants recently hauled Dudula to court demanding, among other things, that it stops harassing foreign nationals and interfering with their access to healthcare services.