Zimbabwean activist Duke Maplanka Atterbell says the South African government is complicit in systemic discrimination against foreign nationals and has failed to act in the face of escalating xenophobic violence and medical exclusion.

In a formal letter dated 27 July 2025, addressed to President Cyril Ramaphosa, Minister of health, Minister of home affairs and the South African Human Rights Commission, Atterbell accused the state of both silence and active neglect, warning of formal complaints to African and international human rights bodies if urgent action is not taken.

“I write this letter as both a concerned African citizen and a representative voice of thousands of foreign nationals, especially Zimbabweans, living in South Africa,” Atterbell said.

He described a worsening situation where “foreign nationals are being chased out of hospitals, clinics, and even maternity wards. Others are beaten in the streets, publicly humiliated, or threatened by vigilantes emboldened by government silence.”

His letter denounced what he calls a double standard in South Africa’s global human rights stance, referencing Pretoria’s condemnation of injustice abroad while allegedly turning a blind eye at home.

“How can South Africa claim the mantle of human rights defender abroad, while at home it presides over de facto ethnic cleansing through economic and medical exclusion? This hypocrisy is staggering,” he said.

Atterbell warned that if no action is taken, he will escalate the matter by filing complaints with the African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights, the UN Special Rapporteur on the Right to Health, the UN Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination, and the South African Human Rights Commission.

He also promised to engage in public advocacy and international media exposure.

“This is not governance, it is abandonment,” he wrote. “This is not the South Africa that the continent stood behind during the anti-apartheid struggle. This is not Ubuntu.”

Atterbell’s appeal comes amid rising tensions in the country over undocumented migration, especially concerning access to jobs and healthcare. In March 2024, radio personality Jacinta Ngobese-Zuma launched March and March, a non-governmental organisation that actively campaigns against the employment and public healthcare access of undocumented foreign nationals in South Africa.

What began in KwaZulu-Natal has now spread nationally, with March and March volunteers stationed at entrances of hospitals including Addington Hospital, RK Khan Hospital, and various Gateway Clinics across the province. The group screens patients before entry, turning away those unable to produce South African ID documents.

“We operate where the government has failed,” the group has said. While critics have labelled it a vigilante operation targeting vulnerable people, the organisation continues to draw strong support from South Africans who believe hospitals are being overrun by foreigners.

Responding to Atterbell’s letter, Ngobese-Zuma posted on Facebook: “He is Zimbabwean and writes to OUR President and not HIS… Kshuthi ngampela they believe they are South African‼️ Kshuthi we owe them‼️ Kshuthi we must intensify our fight because mentally these ppl don’t think that we are serious.”

(Translated : He is Zimbabwean and writes to OUR President and not HIS… Maybe, seriously, they believe they are South African! Maybe we owe them! Maybe we must intensify our fight because mentally these people don’t think that we are serious.”)

Atterbell was quick to respond addressing Ngobese-Zuma in defiant terms.

“When Dudula royalty thinks they can intimidate you,” he said, in reference to her association with nationalist movements. “Jacinta Zinhle MaNgobese Zuma, let’s get one thing straight. I am not here to bow before self-appointed foot soldiers of hate.

”I am an enigma, not because I hide, but because I refuse to allow you to spread your bitter view of patriotism unchecked. I am a fearless advocate for human rights, not because it’s easy, but because people like you have made silence a weapon. And yes, I am a hater of bigotry — proudly, loudly, and unapologetically.”

He continued, accusing Ngobese-Zuma of masking fear as nationalism: “You walk around with your chest puffed out like you’re some gatekeeper of South Africa’s soul. But what you really are is a loud emblem of fear, disguised as pride. You lead mobs, I lead with conscience. You shout in mobs, I speak in truth. You weaponise suffering, I document it.”

Addressing her direct challenge, Atterbell wrote: “You asked, ‘Who are you?’ Let me answer clearly: I am the one your hate cannot reach and your intimidation cannot shake.

”I am the storm you didn’t see coming, and the voice you’ll wish you hadn’t tried to silence. Because while you scream for borders, I fight for bridges. While you hunt the vulnerable, I summon accountability. And while you wave your flag with fury, I carry the Constitution with fire.”

“So no, MaNgobese. I won’t be quiet. Not now. Not ever,” said Atterbell. 

Atterbell, however, insists that the fight is not against South Africa, but for human dignity.

“If your government fails to act, history, and international law, will remember it not for its silence, but for its complicity.”

hope.ntanzi@iol.co.za

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