Dabula tells Zimbabweans to start their own Dudula to challenge Zanu-PF
Operation Dudula leader Zandile Dabula urged Zimbabweans to fight Zanu-PF and insisted that foreign nationals must pay for healthcare in South Africa.
Operation Dudula leader Zandile Dabula hit back at Zimbabwe’s ruling party, Zanu-PF, after it criticised the movement’s stance on foreign nationals accessing healthcare in South Africa.
Speaking to IOL News, Dabula rejected accusations that her movement promoted colonial-era divisions. She stressed that outsiders would not dictate to South Africa and said Operation Dudula based its actions on the Constitution and immigration laws.
Her response followed remarks by Zanu-PF’s director of information, Farai Marapira, who accused the campaign against undocumented migrants of betraying Ubuntu and reviving colonial tactics that divided Africans.
Dabula Dismisses Zanu-PF Criticism, Speaks on Zimbabweans
Marapira contended that Africans could not be treated as foreigners on their own continent and emphasised that colonialism imposed the borders.
Dabula rejected his remarks as unfounded and dismissed claims that foreign powers were funding her movement.
“They should focus on fixing their own country,” Dabula said. “Zimbabweans are fleeing because Zanu-PF has failed them. They are taking up space in South Africa and elsewhere in the world.”
She insisted that Zimbabweans in South Africa far exceeded official estimates, accusing them of straining jobs, schools and public services.
Healthcare Dispute
On healthcare, Dabula said Operation Dudula was not seeking to deny treatment to all migrants but wanted foreign nationals to pay for public healthcare or use private facilities.
“We are not saying they should not get treatment. We are saying they must pay, just like South Africans do,” she said.
Marapira had argued that healthcare was a universal human right.
Dabula said Zanu-PF’s failures had pushed Zimbabweans to depend on South African services.
She warned the ANC’s ties with Zanu-PF could drag South Africa down the same path.
Dabula urged Zimbabweans to form their own version of Operation Dudula in Zimbabwe to challenge Zanu-PF directly. “We will help them,” she said.