THE President of the Nigerian Union South Africa (NUSA), Smart Nwobi, has raised an alarm that Nigerians are dying daily in the country following a ban by an anti-migrant group preventing foreigners from accessing government-owned hospitals.
Nwobi, who spoke in an interview with Punch Newspaper, described the development as unlawful and xenophobic, stressing that the action contravenes Section 27 of the South African Constitution, which guarantees healthcare access to everyone without discrimination.
According to him, members of a group known as Operation Dudula have stationed themselves at hospital entrances where they demand identity cards and chase away those unable to present South African citizenship documents.
He noted that even naturalised citizens who could not speak the local language had been ordered out of health facilities.
“Nigerians have resorted to self-medication, which is detrimental to their health. Some of them are losing their lives every day. The statistics are there. Nigerians are now afraid of going to public hospitals in South Africa to avoid being beaten to death or assaulted. That is the unfortunate part of it. So, this requires urgent intervention.
“Now, as it is getting close to election time, foreigners, especially those doing business, are always the target. That anger against the ruling party, the government, is transferred to foreigners. Nigerians are always among the victims when this happens,” Nwobi said.
Backstory
The ICIR reports that the anti-migrant group, Operation Dudula, has been preventing ‘undocumented foreigners’ from accessing treatment at public clinics and hospitals, insisting that their presence places an additional burden on South Africa’s already strained healthcare system.
In early August 2025, members of the group reportedly stormed the Lilian Ngoyi Community Health Centre in Diepkloof, attempting to force a shutdown of operations. “Our action was to highlight the growing concern around healthcare access for foreign nationals that is impacting our local communities.”
Their campaign, however, has drawn sharp criticism from the South African Department of Health, which maintains that the constitution guarantees healthcare access to all people, regardless of nationality or legal status.
According to reports, some of their members were arrested for intimidating healthcare workers and enforcing the campaign, but were later released on bail on Monday. But authorities have promised a stronger crackdown on similar disruptions in the future.
The Department of Health had condemned Operation Dudula’s ongoing actions, saying they interfere with the delivery of essential services in public hospitals and clinics.
“As the department, we have noted the ongoing protest action happening around our health care facilities by members of Operation Dudula and other organised groups.
“We do not condone these actions, which serve to interfere with the provision of health care services in our health facilities,” health department spokesperson Foster Mohale said in a report published on August 12, 2025.
Mohale added that the concerns raised by Operation Dudula were broader societal issues, not matters to be fought out at hospital gates.
However, Nwobi, who spoke with Punch, explained that although doctors in the country had rejected the group’s stance, insisting that their professional oath required them to treat all patients, the activities of Operation Dudula had created widespread fear among foreigners, particularly Nigerians.
He added that the group, which initially targeted migrants in the informal trade sector, had now shifted focus to healthcare and recently threatened to extend its campaign to schools attended by foreign children.
The NUSA president said the union had written to the Nigerian Consulate and Embassy on the matter, but had yet to receive any intervention. He appealed to President Bola Tinubu to wade into the crisis, especially as world leaders are expected to gather in South Africa for the G-20 summit in September.
Nwobi also revealed that, to cushion the impact, NUSA had organised medical outreaches where African doctors are paid to provide free treatment to Nigerians, but noted that the effort was limited due to a lack of external funding.
“The Nigerian Union South Africa, in one of the provinces, organised a medical outreach to assist Nigerians in the country. Under the scheme, African doctors are paid to carry out tests and treat Nigerians for free. This is done within a limited budget because we do not benefit from any funding outside of members’ contributions,” he said.
He maintained that claims by the anti-migrant group that foreigners were overstretching South Africa’s public health system were unfounded, adding that their actions amounted to xenophobia and Afro-phobia.
Mustapha Usman is an investigative journalist with the International Centre for Investigative Reporting. You can easily reach him via: musman@icirnigeria.com. He tweets @UsmanMustapha_M