The Human Rights Commission’s application for an interdict against the movements Operation Dudula and March and March, has been struck off the roll in the Durban High Court, due to a lack of urgency.

The organisations’ have been turning undocumented people and foreign nationals away from state hospitals and clinics in KwaZulu-Natal and Gauteng.

The commission argued that the application is urgent, in the light of cases where children are being denied healthcare.

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Judge David Sachs says the application was an abuse of court processes after the court heard that the commission already started to prepare the application in July but only served the papers on Operation Dudula and March and March, on Monday.

Operation Dudula leader Zandile Dubula says she’s disappointed that the commission did not try to mediate on its grievance that foreign nationals overburden health facilities.

“It’s good that they have taken us to court because it shows whose side they are on. They are supposed to be protecting South Africans but them taking us to court shows they are siding with foreign nationals. They probably needed to have called both parties or whoever the complainant was and try to mediate and not take sides. We are going to respond and we will oppose whatever is on that affidavit because there is nothing wrong that we are doing here. We are just making sure that laws are enforced,” says Dubula.

Media Statement: SAHRC institute legal proceedings against the unlawful denial of non-nationals and undocumented persons from entering and receiving medical treatment at public health care facilities https://t.co/O05nmBmRVw pic.twitter.com/oTOn2FD6Uf

— SAHRCommission (@SAHRCommission) October 7, 2025

March and March’s Jacintha Ngobese Zuma has welcomed the ruling.

“Today we are very happy to have had the judge teach this South African Human Rights Commission that they are not above the law. They can’t just wake up one day in the morning and decide to take us all to court and say the police must arrest us. We know this is not the end, it does not mean that the case is gone completely but it does give us the time to prove the things we want to prove. South Africans are dying every day because they are not able to access healthcare,” says Zuma.

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