Dudula member convicted for inciting violence
A FORMER member of Operation Dudula, Philani Ronnie Gumede, 36, was sentenced to three years in prison or a fine of R10 000 after he was convicted for inciting violence, which led to attacks on foreign nationals and their businesses, the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) said.
KZN NPA spokesperson Natasha Ramkisson-kara said Gumede was convicted for contravening Section 14 of the Cybercrime Act 19 of 2020.
This piece of legislation enables the State to indict those who bring harm to others or their property through the use of the internet.
Gumede, who was a member of Operation Dudula, which started in Gauteng with the intention of getting rid of foreign nationals in South African, sent out a message on Whatsapp in March last year.
The voice note message informed other members that there was going to be a storm in Durban, as the group tried to chase foreign nationals away from the city’s central business district.
Around the time the message was sent, Operation Dudula members were in the midst of planning a march in Durban that they touted as a big one.
Around 100 people marched the streets of Durban in the wet weather, demanding that police remove foreign nationals from the country.
“They were going to do this by entering businesses owned by foreign nationals, removing all the contents, and using chains to lock up the premises,” Ramkisson-kara said.
After circulating on social media, Gumede’s voice note came to the attention of police.
The police called Gumede in for questioning and the 36-year-old confirmed that he was the one who sent it to all Operation Dudula members.
“His cellphone was seized, and he was arrested. In court, Regional Court prosecutor Nomalungelo Ntshangase told the court that the voice recording had led to xenophobic attacks on foreign nationals, and in some instances, their properties were damaged and looted,” Ramkisson-kara said.
The NPA confirmed that Gumede’s sentencing was the first of its kind in the Durban courts’ region.
Operation Dudula, which was once at the centre of attention, together with its leader Nhlanhla “Lux” Mohlauli fizzled out of the public’s eye and into the criminal justice system.
Mohlauli was arrested and charged with housebreaking and malicious damage to property after he and other members conducted a raid in Soweto on their own authority.
This week, Mohlauli was sentenced by the Roodepoort Magistrate’s Court.
He was given a suspended sentence, according to the NPA in Gauteng.
The court sentenced Mohlauli to two years’ imprisonment, wholly suspended for three years on condition that he was not convicted of housebreaking and another five years, also suspended for three years.
In other cases relating to incitement in the Durban cluster, particularly surrounding the 2021 July unrest, the trial of Bonginkosi Khanyile has been set for December and January next year. He was charged with incitement to commit public violence and contravention of the Disaster Management Act in relation to the July 2021 unrest.