Pan Africa Shopping Centre’s walkways are now clear, wide, and open. Shoppers quietly enjoy the freedom of navigating spaces that were once crowded and unlawfully occupied by informal traders.

The precinct now feels less chaotic and quieter, yet beneath this silence, tensions continue to brew. Some traders believe there is a determined campaign to remove them from their designated trading spaces. But opinions differ about who might be behind the campaign.

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Some traders point to the Dudula Movement, long accused of fuelling an anti-immigration agenda in Alexandra. Others say it is the same informal traders who were removed from Pan Africa following the city’s sustained effort to enforce by-laws. Still, others argue the two are the same.

Veteran trader Matome Mashitatona, who has been selling in the area since 1989, two decades before the official opening of Pan Africa, said he has witnessed first-hand how traders were removed from their stalls by vigilante groups. “There are people who we found selling here when we came, but they were later removed,” he said.

Mashitatona is among those whose stalls were torched in 2022. Four years later, he says the torment continues. “The same people are still abusing us even now. They are fighting; they want these containers,” he claimed.

While some traders allege Dudula Movement is behind the campaign, the chairperson of what is referred to as the original Operation Dudula in Alex, Khethukuthula Chiya, denied involvement. He stressed that their operation has not conducted any such campaign, at least not in recent years.

“There are organisations that operate in the name of Dudula. We don’t have any operation currently. We picked up that there are other organisations [calling themselves Dudula] that are uncontrollable, so we decided to hold back until the environment becomes conducive,” Chiya explained.

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He acknowledged that some individuals chase traders away without following proper procedures. Although Chiya confirmed his organisation is not running any campaign targeting traders at Pan Africa, he admitted that those behind the campaign could be linked to Dudula, but stressed they do not act on behalf of his group.

Meanwhile, some traders remain determined to reclaim spaces they say were taken from them last year, citing severe loss of income. On Tuesday, several were adamant about being reinstated.

Regional director Thaba Makgafela confirmed that about 40 informal traders removed from the Pan Africa precinct are currently lodging complaints with the mayor’s office. Their reinstatement forms part of the broader issues the city is working to resolve.

For now, Pan Africa’s walkways remain clear, but the battle for trading space continues with no clear end in sight.

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