Operation Dudula vows to remove foreign shop owners from Ekurhuleni

Operation Dudula has vowed to remove foreign traders from Etwatwa in Ekurhuleni after the death of a local man, allegedly at the hands of spaza shop owners who are Bangladesh nationals.

Siphamandla Mphuthi, 28, died after being allegedly hammered on the head on 7 August.

Operation Dudula’s Tshepo Shabangu said it had answered the call from community members to remove foreign shop owners from the Daveyton area because they were trying to get back their local economy and the owners are now killing locals.

Operation Dudula on fatal altercation with foreign trader

“The young man had a case opened against the shop owners for having assaulted him. So they asked the police to talk to the victim to settle the case out of court with an agreed amount.

“He dropped the case but when he went to collect his money, they did not agree to pay him and instead hit him with a hammer on the head.

“We have a witness who observed all this,” said Shabangu.

Abahambe: Community calls for removal of foreigners

Hundreds of angry community members took to the streets on Friday in the name of Abahambe, a campaign by Minister of Sports, Arts and Culture Gayton McKenzie that calls for the removal of undocumented foreign nationals.

Mpho Mphuthi, the brother of the deceased, said he was sad and angry about how his brother had died. He said his brother had odd jobs and was “someone you could rely on”.

“He was taken to the clinic, then transferred to hospital but died on 14 August,” Mphuthi said.

ALSO READ: Operation Dudula tells immigrants to get healthcare ‘in their own countries’

Opportunity for locals – Operation Dudula

Shabangu said the community should not be afraid if the shops were vacated because it was an opportunity for locals to run and own them.

Researcher Refiloe Joala said the state’s role in ensuring food security was not a charity but an obligation so it should be playing a bigger role.

“The right to food is recognised by our constitution in South Africa even though we don’t have a Bill and regulations that drive the implementation of this human right.

“It is recognised in South Africa and also ratified in the UN convention on economic, social and cultural rights and the human right to food.”

ALSO READ: Soweto community split over foreign-owned shop closures (VIDEO)

Social grant not enough

Joala said although there are social grants which the social development department provided to certain households, “the scale of that programme is not meeting the demand”.

“Given our very high food insecurity rate and the fact that so many households also depend on social grants, the grant itself is not enough.

“Even the children’s grant is not enough to feed a single child to make sure they have access to enough nutritious food for a whole month.

“My view is that the state should be stepping in and regulating our market better in terms of food inflation, particularly on staple food, so people are not put in a position where they have to sacrifice their health, well-being and food for children who are more vulnerable,” Joala said.