South African Police clashed with Operation Dudula members in Orange Grove, Johannesburg, on Sunday.
Operation Dudula is made up of large groups of locals who say they are determined to rid South Africa of illegal foreign nationals whom they accused of, stealing their jobs, failing to pay tax, and committing crimes.
One of the Operation Dudula leaders Nhlanhla Lux Dlamini who turned up in military fatigues said South Africans had a right to make citizen’s arrests of persons suspected of committing crimes.
He said the police and home affairs were failing to enforce the countries laws and Operation Dudula was merely doing that.
Dlamini, however, admitted that Operation Dudula did not get permission from the police to march through Orange Grove.
He said members did not march to the suburb, they drove in cars, which did not require police permission.
During the clashes, some women removed their clothes in protest.
Police fired rubber bullets to disperse the huge crowd.
South Africa is in a joblessness bind with its official unemployment rate at 34,9% in the third quarter of 2021.
The Quarterly Labour Force Survey for the same period shows the number of employed persons decreased by as many as 660 000 to 14,3 million.
On Saturday, police prevented Operation Dudula members from accosting residents of Hillbrow accused of being drug dealers and undocumented foreign nationals. The police used water cannons to disperse the large crowd.
The rising anti-foreigner sentiment is aimed at African immigrants, especially those from Zimbabwe.
