WATCH | Who’s telling the truth? – Public Protector disputes ZHRC claim

Public protector

Cape Town – The Office of South Africa’s Public Protector, Kholeka Gcaleka, has dismissed claims made by the Zimbabwe Human Rights Commission (ZHRC) that it engaged her office regarding the alleged denial of healthcare services to Zimbabwean nationals in South Africa.

This follows growing reports of foreign nationals — particularly undocumented Zimbabweans — being denied access to public healthcare.

Advocacy groups such as Operation Dudula and the March and March movement have been protesting at clinics and hospitals in KwaZulu-Natal and Gauteng, blocking undocumented immigrants from receiving treatment.

Operation Dudula has also announced plans to extend its campaign to prevent undocumented immigrants from accessing public schools.

During a recent interview with Newzroom Afrika, Zimbabwe Human Rights Commission (ZHRC) chairperson Jessie Majome stated that she had engaged in discussions with Gcaleka on ways the two countries could work together to address the matter.

“In September 2024 Gcaleka hosted the ZHRC for a benchmarking and learning visit.

“During the visit we agreed  we want to come together and devise ways to come up with lasting solutions to ensure all human beings enjoy their rights freely,” Majome said.

In a statement, Gcaleka’s office clarified that no formal complaint has been received from the ZHRC about the issue.

The Public Protector’s office acknowledged hosting the ZHRC in 2024 during a benchmarking and learning visit, where general topics such as service delivery, corruption, and the state of healthcare systems in both countries were discussed.

However, Gcaleka emphasised that no specific conversation took place regarding the denial of healthcare to Zimbabwean nationals in South Africa.

“At no point did the discussions then, nor recently, focus on the denial of Zimbabwean nationals’ access to healthcare services in South Africa,” her office said.

“We are therefore surprised by reports in the media about discussions, which purportedly occurred recently, and were centred around matters relating to Zimbabwean nationals being denied access to health-care services in South Africa, neither do we have record of a complaint of that kind.”

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