Note to Editors: Please note Dr Imran Keeka, MPL sound bite in English
The DA in KwaZulu-Natal (KZN) welcomes this weeks’ sound judgment in Kopanang Africa & Others v Operation Dudula & Others. The ruling not only restores the rule of law, it exposes reckless illegal conduct that has – for too long – masqueraded as activism at our provinces’ healthcare facilities.
The Johannesburg High Court’s findings are unambiguous: Operation Dudula’s actions, including the harassment, intimidation and obstruction of patients and health workers outside public hospitals such as Addington were unlawful, unconstitutional, and a direct violation of the rights to healthcare, dignity, and equality. No individual or organisation, however loud their rhetoric, is above the Constitution.
This judgment has now confirmed what the DA has stated from the outset: Operation Dudula’s conduct is not mere protest, it is breaking the law.
The deliberate prevention of access to healthcare is a serious offence that endangers lives and undermines the very essence of our constitutional democracy. The South African Human Rights Commission (SAHRC) has previously ruled in this regard.
Those denied access or maimed and harassed and those who may be, by any individual acting illegally, are well within their rights to lay criminal charges and the DA encourages them to do so. The law now speaks unequivocally in their favour.
The DA is of the view that KZN Health MEC, Nomagugu Simelane and her departmental legal advisors should study this judgment carefully and work with SAPS and safety and security to have any and all thuggery ejected from hospital premises in future. Municipalities and SAPS have the same duty. Law enforcement cannot stand idle while unlawful groups turn hospital gates into stages for xenophobic theatre. Every day that passes without consequence emboldens lawbreakers and weakens our constitutional order.
The DA will continue to demand accountability and to ensure that healthcare facilities remain places of healing, not places of intimidation. The right to health belongs to all persons within South Africa, once more confirmed by this judgement and the SAHRC.
As a partner within KZN’s Government of Provincial Unity (GPU), the DA remains committed to the rule of law and the development of a capable, ethical and caring state. Mob justice and thuggery cannot be.