Nhlanhla Lux steps down as leader of the Operation Dudula movement

Nhlanhla Lux Dlamini steps down. Picture: Itumeleng English/African News Agency (ANA)

Nhlanhla Lux Dlamini steps down. Picture: Itumeleng English/African News Agency (ANA)

Published Jul 26, 2022

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SIYABONGA SITHOLE

Nhlanhla Lux Dlamini and president of Soweto Parliament has stepped down as the leader of Operation Dudula Movement.

Dlamini, Operation Dudula’s Dan Radebe and Put South Africa First’s Faith Mabusela were among those who gathered at the Booysens Conference Centre following an internal memo that resulted in Dlamini stepping down from his position as the face of the movement following public spats between members and leaders.

It is believed that recent public spats between the leaders and members of these two movements are at the centre of the decision as Nhlanhla Lux reverts to his initial position of being the leader of Soweto Parliament.

Another issue of contention that has resulted in the cold relations between the leaders is the unclear stance on foreigners and illegal immigrants, which Radebe said remained an issue.

"We are Africans first before we are South Africans. This then means we need to trade with other African countries more than we need to trade with European countries. However, we still stand by the fact that illegal foreigners, and foreigners in general, need to respect the laws of this country, which means that even those who are here legally cannot take jobs without the rightful papers," Radebe said.

Though Nhlanhla Lux will no longer be the face of the Dudula Movement, all the three organisations, Soweto Parliament, Operation Dudula and Put South Africans First have agreed that they will continue to work separately, but in collaboration with one another, with Lux adding that it was unfortunate that the behaviour of a select few members had succeeded in sowing division between the three movements.

"It is unfortunate that 30 people who were singing songs that Lux is a sellout while wearing Operation Dudula T-shirts have contributed to this perceived fall-out. They were not there when we kick-started this train called Operation Dudula, which is now loved by millions of people across the country. Even though this decision was taken now, this has been a long time coming," Dlamini said.

Radebe said the issues between Operation Dudula and Soweto Parliament did not prevent collaboration between the two movements, as the movements were bigger than the interests of individuals and egos.

"Operation Dudula was founded because South Africans have been denied and sidelined by political leaders who do not have the interests of our people at heart. We have a bigger responsibility to ensure that we continue working towards fighting for service delivery for the people of South Africa. No individual is bigger than the challenges faced by the people of this country who need us to work together to solve their issues. We will continue to work with Soweto Parliament on specific programmers and campaigns that need us to be consistent," Radebe said.

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