Operation Dudula members outside the Roodepoort Magistrate's Court to support their leader Nhlanhla 'Lux' Dlamini during his bail application, 28 March 2022. Picture: Nigel Sibanda
Controversial Operation Dudula leader Nhlanhla ‘Lux’ Dlamini received a hero’s welcome outside the Roodepoort Magistrate’s Court on Monday when he emerged a free man after being granted bail.
Hundreds of supporters who had gathered outside the court, broke out in song and ululation as he stepped out.
Dlamini – who whose name appears as Ntlantla ‘Lux’ Mohlauhi in court papers – was arrested on housebreaking charges on Thursday. This in connection with a raid on Soweto resident Victor Ramerafe’s home earlier this month which he and other Operation Dudula members were involved in.
They were apparently acting on tip-offs that Ramerafe’s home was in fact a drug den. No drugs were, however, found and Ramerafe has since made claims of theft and damage to property.
Dlamini was detained over the weekend and made his first appearance in the dock of the Roodepoort Magistrate’s Court on Monday morning to apply for bail, with several supporters – among them Kenny Kunene – lining the gallery. His application was not opposed by the state and bail was set at R1,500. He was, however, ordered not to have any contact with Ramerafe and to hand over his passport.
He was dressed in a long-sleeved black T-shirt in the dock but changed into his trademark camouflage before leaving court hand-in-hand with other Dudula leaders and affiliates.
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In recent weeks and months, Dlamini and Operation Dudula have been at the forefront of a string of vigilante-style operations which have garnered controversy – particularly over their focus on foreign nationals.
Addressing his supporters outside court, Dlamini thanked them for their backing and for “displaying maximum discipline” – the latter on the back of a call for restraint he made last week.
“I want to thank everyone that is here, especially the very old people that saw it fit to leave their houses and come here today. I want to also thank the young people who are very capable of expressing their youth and being extremely violent in these difficult times for displaying maximum discipline and high morale,” he said.
He also thanked his legal team, saying they had done “an outstanding job”.
“What’s important is that we are going to come out and emerge victorious,” he said.
The raid on Ramerafe’s home has set the Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) – which helped Ramerafe open his criminal case – at odds with Operation Dudula. And at one point during his address on Monday, a small casket emblazoned with an EFF poster and the letters ‘RIP’ was displayed alongside Dlamini. He, however, asked that it be removed.
“We must forgive these people that put us into this position. We are not going to carry caskets and say [EFF leader Julius] Malema must die. We are better people than that,” he said.
Speaking after proceedings, National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) spokesperson Phindi Mjonondwane denied speculation that the case was politically motivated.
In response to questions around why Dlamini wasn’t granted police bail in light of the relatively minor charges he was facing, she said:
“When the prosecutor came to see whether bail could be arranged at the police station, the investigating officer raised certain concerns. The prosecutor then decided to step back and allow the bail application to be heard in court and for those concerns to be investigated. He gave the investigating officer until today. When he came back today he confirmed he had investigated the concerns and they had no merit so we did not oppose bail.”
The case is due back in court in May.
