Leader of the anti-immigrant activist group Operation Dudula, Zandile Dabula, was hit with teargas and pepper spray on Saturday as members of the South African Police Service (SAPS) clashed with protesters near the Nasrec Expo Centre in Johannesburg, where President Cyril Ramaphosa and world leaders are attending the G20 Leaders’ Summit.
IOL reported earlier that SAPS officers pushed back a group of Umkhonto we Sizwe (MK) members and Operation Dudula activists who had gathered near the heavily fortified venue, demanding to speak to President Ramaphosa and visiting dignitaries.
Officers deployed teargas and pepper spray to disperse the crowd, while water cannons were also positioned at the scene.
Videos circulating on social media showed Dabula sitting in a vehicle, rubbing her eyes and coughing after being caught in the cloud of chemical agents.
‘They can’t show this force to criminals’
Speaking to reporters later, Dabula criticised police for using excessive force against South African protesters instead of targeting criminals.
“The sad thing is that the force they are showing to us as South Africans, they can’t show it to criminals. That is why we are having the Madlanga Commission today,” she said. “When they are supposed to do the right thing to the criminals, they don’t do it. Some of us are arrested for fighting crime — for fighting illegality that is happening in the country.”
Dabula accused some police officers of corruption, claiming they were “working against” citizens.
“We took people who are illegal in the country to the police station, and some of our members were arrested. What’s the job of the police if they can’t protect citizens? They are working against us — they are corrupt. Because we don’t have R20 to give a bribe, that is how they behave. We know their agenda, and it’s not going to work,” she said.
Protesters demand to speak to Ramaphosa
Earlier, a leader of the group wearing MK regalia told IOL that protesters had been restricted to an area nearly a kilometre away from the G20 venue.
“The whole point of picketing is to ensure that we send a strong message to the dignitaries attending the G20,” the protest leader said. “The situation is that we are placed almost a kilometre away from the Nasrec Expo Centre, whereas Section 17 of the Constitution of the Republic of South Africa allows us to protest — to picket at least 100 metres away.”
He said the group was frustrated at being confined to a public area far from the summit site.
“Here we are placed in front of ordinary traffic, people going to Southgate Mall. It is not them we want to talk to. The people we want to talk to are President Ramaphosa and all the dignitaries, the world leaders attending the G20 Summit. What SAPS is doing is actually unfair, and they are depriving us of our constitutional rights.”
Some Operation Dudula activists said they were prepared to face arrest if necessary.
“If they want to shoot us, they must shoot us,” one activist said defiantly. — IOL
