“I
expected
to
struggle
for
work…
But
being
denied
medical
help
when
you’re
sick?
That’s
inhumane.”
Operation
Dudula,
launched
in
2021,
has
justified
itself
as
protecting
South
Africans
by
targeting
undocumented
immigrants.
In
reality,
the
campaign
has
fostered
harassment,
evictions,
and
the
denial
of
basic
healthcare
services,
even
in
emergency
cases.
Videos
widely
shared
on
social
media
show
pregnant
Zimbabwean
women
being
turned
away
from
hospitals.
In
a
high-profile
episode
in
2022,
Limpopo
Health
MEC
Dr
Phophi
Ramathuba
berated
a
Zimbabwean
patient
at
a
public
hospital,
accusing
her
of
“killing
my
health
system.”
“Even
when
you
are
documented,
they
treat
you
like
you
don’t
belong,”
Sibanda
says.
“You
live
in
constant
fear
of
being
refused
help.”
Zimbabwean
citizens
living
in
South
Africa
have
appealed
for
diplomatic
intervention,
but
the
official
response
has
been
blunt:
they
are
on
their
own.
Justice
Minister
Ziyambi
Ziyambi
recently
told
Parliament
that
the
Zimbabwean
government
will
not
fund
healthcare
for
citizens
living
in
South
Africa,
insisting
that
migrants
must
regularise
their
stay
and
contribute
to
that
country’s
system.
“We
are
currently
unable
as
Parliament
to
budget
for
adequate
health
services
for
citizens
in
the
country,”
Ziyambi
said.
“Those
who
moved
to
other
countries,
most
of
them
are
working.
Those
who
are
here
are
being
taken
care
of
by
the
government.
Those
who
left
the
country
went
to
look
for
better
opportunities
and
they
should
be
able
to
take
care
of
themselves
in
those
countries.
No
government
sends
money
to
another
government
to
take
care
of
its
citizens
who
are
in
that
country.
If
you
are
a
South
African
citizen
resident
in
Zimbabwe,
you
would
be
required
to
obtain
medical
insurance
in
Zimbabwe
so
you
can
receive
medical
assistance.
Our
embassies,
however,
stand
ready
to
assist
those
with
life-threatening
conditions.”
Zimbabwe’s
healthcare
infrastructure
is
in
a
state
of
decay.
Hospitals
lack
basic
drugs,
medical
staff
are
overwhelmed,
and
equipment
lies
broken.
of
public
hospitals
in
Harare
President
Emmerson
Mnangagwa
made
unannounced
visits
in
June
2025
to
Harare’s
two
largest
referral
hospitals,
Parirenyatwa
Group
of
Hospitals
and
Sally
Mugabe
Central
Hospital,
where
he
found
outdated
equipment,
medicine
shortages,
and
strained
staff.
The
visits
prompted
swift
action
with
government
announcing
that
the
country’s
major
hospitals
will
be
rehabilitated
to
meet
international
standards.
Healthcare
worker
groups,
including
the
Zimbabwe
Association
of
Doctors
for
Human
Rights
(ZADHR),
welcomed
these
developments
and
called
for
a
Commission
of
Inquiry
to
probe
the
healthcare
crisis
and
propose
structural
reforms.
While
the
rapid
response
was
applauded,
concerns
remain
about
transparency.
The
speed
of
renovations
raised
eyebrows,
with
critics
questioning
the
tender
processes
and
whether
this
momentum
will
be
sustained.
Ngqabutho
Mabhena,
chairperson
of
the
Zimbabwe
Community
in
South
Africa,
described
Operation
Dudula
as
“a
wave
of
lawlessness
hiding
behind
patriotism.”
“The
operation
Dudula
is
continuing
with
its
activities,
although
we
deem
these
activities
illegal,
but
they
continue
to
prevent
people
from
accessing
healthcare
facilities.
Unfortunately,
we
do
not
have
the
number
of
Zimbabweans
that
have
been
affected
by
this,”
he
said.
“The
thing
is
Operation
Dudula
doesn’t
care
if
one
is
a
legal
immigrant
or
not,
if
you
are
foreign,
you
are
simply
barred
from
accessing
healthcare
facilities.
We
saw
last
week
Abahlali
Basemjondolo,
confronting
Operation
Dudula
on
the
street.
There
are
other
South
African
organizations
that
took
the
government
and
department
of
Home
Affairs
to
court
because
they
are
arguing
that
they
are
working
in
cahoots
with
Operation
Dudula.
“Until
the
government
prevents
Operation
Dudula
from
doing
what
it
is
doing,
those
that
can
afford
can
visit
private
health
facilities,
but
we
are
imploring
the
government
to
ensure
that
people
have
access
to
healthcare
services.”
An
article
in Daily
Maverick argued
that
South
Africa’s
health
crisis
stems
from
years
of
mismanagement
and
underinvestment,
not
foreign
nationals.
The
article
notes
that
healthcare
infrastructure
has
persistently
lagged
behind
demand
and
population
growth,
irrespective
of
nationality,
with
many
border-area
hospitals
facing
heightened
pressure,
not
primarily
from
migration,
but
rather
from
longstanding
underinvestment
in
capacity
and
resources.
Critical
Studies
scholar,
Dr
Khanyile
Mlotshwa,
said
one
of
the
key
arguments
used
to
justify
Operation
Dudula
is
the
claim
that
foreigners
are
overburdening
South
Africa’s
public
resources,
particularly
in
the
health
sector.
“They
feel
that
foreigners
are
abusing
their
country’s
health
system,
that
is
the
South
African
taxpayer’s
money.
To
some
extent
it
is
true
that
the
health
system
is
strained.
However,
the
impression
that
foreign
nationals
don’t
pay
tax
is
wrong,”
Dr
Mlotshwa
said.
“What
is
also
problematic
with
Dudula
is
branding
people
as
illegal.
First,
no
person
can
be
illegal.
Second,
Dudula
has
no
means
of
ascertaining
whether
someone
is
in
the
country
illegally
or
not.
Hence,
they
tend
to
lump
foreign
nationals
together
and
abuse
them.”
He
further
noted
that
Dudula
seems
to
have
a
special
kind
of
hatred
for
Zimbabweans,
with
stereotypes
of
aliens
out
to
take
over
the
country
produced
and
circulated,
especially
online,
resulting
in
some
living
in
fear.
“In
a
sense,
groundwork
has
been
done
to
‘eliminate’
Zimbabweans.
Zimbabweans
live
with
that
reality
in
the
back
of
their
mind.
That
they
are
hated.
Some
give
up
and
return
home.
Those
who
stay
put
are
compelled
by
their
dire
situation
back
home.
I
say
‘their’
because
people’s
circumstances
both
at
home
and
in
the
diaspora
are
not
the
same,”
he
said.
He
added
that
the
issue
of
being
turned
away
from
hospitals
is
a
recent
development
that
will
likely
be
challenged
in
court.
“The
Helen
Suzman
Foundation
has
litigated
in
support
of
foreign
nationals,
as
a
way
of
protecting
them.
When
the
government
planned
to
cancel
the
special
permits,
they
mounted
a
victorious
legal
challenge
in
the
country’s
courts,”
he
said.
“The
recent
developments,
where
people
are
blocked
from
accessing
hospitals,
are
fairly
new
and
yet
to
be
taken
up
as
legal
cases.”