Everson Luhanga
“I am no longer a Dudula member anymore. I am not a Dudula.”
These were the desperate pleas of Sibongile Ngobese, the leader of the ailing Alexandra Dudula Movement, as she was being beaten, necklaced and doused with petrol.
The woman was about to be set alight by a mob of residents when reporters on the scene stepped in to rescue her.
The reporters, who have been closely reporting on the havoc caused by the anti-immigrant group since February, called the Alexandra police station commander Brigadier Lindiwe Magudulela to rescue the woman.
Residents from Alexandra’s Tsutsumani, Ext 7, 8, 9, and 10 have accused Dudula Movement members of making their lives a living hell since February. The group operated by accusing the owners of RDP houses of being foreign nationals, evicting them, and installing others in their place.
Ngobese, who is seen in the video pleading with the fed-up residents not to hurt her, was one of the group’s leaders. Since its leader Simon “Msayza” Rati was arrested last week, along with 13 other members, she has become its most senior member.
Most of the arrested members were granted bail on Monday, besides Rati who remains behind bars.
Sources within the police said although police stepped in to rescue her in time, she has been admitted to the Tembisa hospital after being severely beaten by the mob.
But she remains under police guard, as she now faces multiple criminal charges including illegal eviction, public violence, assault, and pointing of firearms among others. She will be arrested the day she is discharged.
A source close to Scrolla.Africa showed our team a hit-list drawn up by a resident who said they will end an era of terror caused by Dudula Movement members by targeting them one by one.
None of the other angry residents was willing to speak to the media, either regarding the hit-list or Ngobese’s attack.
In a series of videos Scrolla.Africa has in possession; the angry residents are seen carrying sjamboks and whipping the Dudula leader. Residents are also heard asking her where the men are who used to terrorise the local residents.
As well as evicting locals from their homes, the Alexandra Dudula Movement members operated by destroying and burning stalls owned by foreign business owners. They have also forced shops to close and asked many people to produce their identity documents to prove whether they were South Africans or not.
