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More than 70 people were killed last week when a fire tore through a five-story neglected building in Johannesburg’s central business district. The “informal settlement” was occupied in large part by undocumented migrants living with little to no access to electricity, water or adequate sanitation.

In the wake of the tragedy, many South Africans started blaming foreign nationals, with some claiming that eviction laws protect criminals by making it difficult to remove people who are occupying buildings without authorization. That prompted Kenny Kunene, a member of the Mayoral Committee for Transport, to call for “mass deportation of illegal immigrants who are staying in these buildings that are taking rent.” The city or provincial government reportedly owns more than 50 such abandoned buildings which have been “hijacked” by criminal syndicates who rent them out illegally.

Launched in 2021 in Soweto, and now with branches across the country, Operation Dudula was conceived by South African youth activists in order to address crime and drug usage in Gauteng province’s communities. However, today the movement is better known for calling for mass deportation of undocumented migrants, blocking immigrants from accessing healthcare, raiding businesses belonging to foreign nationals, and forcing their shops to close. The isiZulu word Dudula means “to push out”, denoting pushing foreigners out of the country and back to their countries of origin.

The documentary spotlights how entrenched xenophobia is within the Operation Dudula movement, whose members use language derogatory to foreign nationals and sing struggle songs signifying a readiness to go to war with them. “To tell you the truth, I hate foreigners,” a member of Operation Dudula said. “How I wish they could just pack and go and leave our country.”

An elite unit of South Africa's police has raided the Johannesburg home of the speaker of parliament, Nosiviwe Mapisa-Nqakula, over corruption allegations.

She has been accused of soliciting bribes in return for awarding contracts when she served as defence minister.

"The Speaker steadfastly upholds her strong conviction of innocence," said a statement from parliament.

The police unit was acting on behalf of state prosecutors who have been carrying out an investigation.