South Africa’s Home Affairs Minister Aaron Motsoaledi has denied they work with Operation Dudula, an anti-immigrant vigilante-like group that is targetting illegal foreign nationals in that country.
Motsoaledi said South Africa’s Government applies immigration laws when they deport or remove illegal foreign nationals from the country.
He made the comments while responding to IFP MP Liezl van der Merwe, who, in a written question in Parliament, had asked whether the Home Affairs Department was working with Operation Dudula. Said Motsoaledi:
The department does not condone any illegal activities. The activities of Operation Dudula of identifying and forcefully removing alleged illegal foreign nationals in identified communities is not a programme of the department.
The Department of Home Affairs, through its Inspectorate, has the legal mandate to ensure that all persons in South Africa are lawfully permitted to be here.
The inspectorate does regular inspections and conducts investigations to detect those who may be here unlawfully.
Multi-disciplinary operations with the South African Police Services and Metropolitan Police, including inspections of businesses, is a key source of the detection of illegal foreign nationals, their arrest and deportation.
Operation Dudula has launched provincial chapters in recent times. Last week, it launched in the North West province.