Six members of the Alexandra Dudula Movement appeared in the Alexandra Magistrate’s Court on March 17 and their bail hearing was postponed again to March 23.
The members of the Dudula and #OperationFiyela were arrested on March 8 at the Pan Africa trading square following heated clashes between Dudula members and foreign vendors who came to seek employment in South Africa and the law-enforcement agencies.
They first appeared in court on March 10 and the accused were remanded in custody to appear on March 17 for a bail application, but their legal representative asked for a postponement, saying they were not ready yet to proceed.
Addressing members outside on March 10, chairperson of Dudula Simon ‘Msyza’ Tsatsi urged his members to brace themselves for contributions toward bailing out their comrades when they appear next on March 17, estimating the amount to be around R20 000 for all of them.
Meanwhile, ogogo [elderly] in Alexandra are said to have accused what they called ‘marauding Dudula members’ of extorting money from them, which they were not sure what it will be used for.
But Dudula leader Agnes Malatjie disputed the accusations, saying their members of the organisation that were tasked with collecting money to bail out their comrades and added that ogogo could be referring to these comrades doing the rounds for bail money.
“If there are imposters going around the township harassing ogogo in our name, we will deal with them once they are caught. We have never issued instructions to anyone to harass ogogo, but people are free to donate toward securing freedom for their comrades.â€
