Incensed: Retired justice’s comments fire up operation Dudula

Operation Dudula has called for the removal of retired justice Sisi Khampepe, chair of the commission of inquiry into the Marshalltown fire, after her remarks about the newly registered political party.

This comes after Khampepe removed advocate Thulani Makhubela from the inquiry for his “bias towards foreign nationals” and support for groups such as Operation Dudula and #PutSouthAfricaFirst.

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Earlier this month, lawyers representing the Socio-Economic Rights Institution and The Inner City Federation claimed Makhubela had a long-standing view on illegal immigrants through a series of tweets and his public support for the two organisations who were known to be against foreign nationals.

Khampepe said the fact that Operation Dudula had been accused of starting the fire meant that Makhubela would be “unable to be impartial on issues when they pertain to foreign nationals” and the party.

Operation Dudula’s deputy secretary-general Isaac Lesole said it believed Khampepe held political views that were against the party and her ruling against Makhubela was based on politics and not law.

“For that reason, we have submitted our letter and said she must recuse herself. We have requested to be called on the stand as a witness and that they stay or review the ruling made against Advocate Makhubela,” he said.

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Lesole said it was mischievous of Khampepe to take statements from the people who were opposed to the party as fact.

“It is common knowledge that anybody who is undocumented and illegal in South Africa will never agree with Operation Dudula,” he said.

“Taking statements of such people as fact, affirming them as a presiding officer and saying that Operation Dudula is a vigilante group is mischievous and very cheap politicking because it is registered as a political party.”

Lesole said the only institution empowered by law to verify the credibility of a political party or a xenophobic group was the Electoral Commission of South Africa (IEC).

He said that by Khampepe referring to Operation Dudula as a vigilante group after it was registered as a political party meant that she was saying the IEC was not credible.

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“You are saying that the IEC has made a mistake and it has made a mistake in registering a vigilante group and a xenophobic group as a political party,” said Lesole.

He said Operation Dudula was an anti-illegal migrant movement and this was the ideology of the political party. The party would support anyone who took a stand against illegal immigrants.

“We are anti-illegal migrants, not anti-migrants. “They make it look like we are against migrants and that’s just mischievous.

“The basis of our ideology is the immigration laws. Anybody who says you can’t be in the country illegally is pro-Operation Dudula or its ideologies.”

He said the party supported what Makhubela stood for as he stood for the enforcement of the law.

“His views are older than Operation Dudula,” said Lesole.