Operation Dudula: South Africans should be worried

There seems to be a new kid on the block that political analyst Dr Ralph Mathekga warns has all the makings of a vigilante grouping playing outside of the political realm of accountability. All of which, Mathekga says, makes for a worrying situation. Operation Dudula has been in recent headlines and rose to prominence as a single-issue movement intent on dealing with illegal foreign nationals. It has been accused of heightening xenophobic tensions in the country but fobs off this assertion. Its leader, Nhlanhla ‘Lux’ Mohlauli – forever clad in military fatigues complete with bulletproof vest – is out on R1,500 bail after his initial arrest on several charges, including housebreaking, theft and malicious damage to property. Operation Dudula members are accused of ransacking the home of Soweto resident Victor Ramerafe. The trial was postponed to 27 May following Monday’s bail application. Mohlauli is something of an enigma. A matriculant of St David’s Marist Inanda, and a former ANC Youth League Secretary at the University of Johannesburg, Mohlauli is also an entrepreneur, a pilot, a pro golfer and now the face of a movement that Mathekga says is filling in the leadership and policy vacuum on immigration issues in South Africa. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices