The Minister of Basic Education in South Africa Siviwe Gwarube has requested that the joint operations structures between her department, the South African Police Service (SAPS), and provincial education departments be activated to monitor and manage anticipated disruptions by anti-illegal immigration group Operation Dudula.
Gwarube raised concerns with the Acting Minister of Police Firoz Cachalia regarding reported disruptions of schooling.
Operation Dudula is calling for South African children to be prioritised for admission over children of illegal immigrants, especially in Gauteng where there are space constraints due to a high demand.
On Monday, 22 September, Operation Dudula and its leader Zandile Dabula delivered letters to local schools in Soweto in the City of Johannesburg urging them not to enroll undocumented children for the 2026 academic year.
In response, Minister Gwarube said that it is an offence under the South African Schools Act to disrupt teaching and learning.
“No movement, no matter its name or agenda, has the right to hold children’s education hostage. Those who seek to destabilise schools will be met with the full might of the law,” said Gwarube.
Gwarube also reaffirmed her commitment to ensuring that schools are safe spaces for children, free from abuse, intimidation, and disruption. She made it clear that criminal and disruptive elements will have no place in South Africa’s education system.
EFF OPENS CASE AGAINST ANTI-FOREGINER MOVEMENT
Meanwhile, the Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) in Gauteng lodged a criminal complaint against Operation Dudula after a one-year-old child died after the mother was allegedly denied access to local clinics in Soweto.
Party leader in Gauteng Nkululeko Dunga laid the complaint at the Alexandra Police Station.
“We demand the police to do their job in enforcing the law. Operation Dudula has no mandate to harass people in clinics and hospitals. South Africa is a democratic and constitutional state, governed by the rule of law. We can’t be subjected to an Apartheid like situation of the Pass Laws,” the EFF said.
Recently, Operation Dudula was in the headlines for its campaign in public clinics and hospitals where foreigners were denied access to healthcare services. The group called for South Africans to be prioritised in the country’s overburdened healthcare system.
