The video captures a peaceful Zulu cultural group, Amabutho disrupting a meeting to resolve the Ingonyama Trust land issue.
This video shared on X (formerly Twitter) claiming the Operation Dudula guys have started fighting their people after xenophobia on foreigners is FALSE.
The footage shows several men dressed in cultural South African Zulu attire, arriving at a conference centre, disrupting the on-going meeting. The men were peaceful, singing cultural songs while holding their shields and knobkerries, bringing the meeting into standstill.
The post sharing the footage accuses South Africans of fighting amongst themselves soon after Xenophobia.
“This is Durban, South Africa. The Operation Dudula guys have started fighting their people too. From xenophobia to fighting your own people,” reads the post.
The claim comes amidst renewed xenophobic attacks in South Africa, after months of local South Africans through groups such as March and March movement and Operation Dudula have been chasing away foreign migrants.
Are Operation Dudula members attacking fellow South Africans?
The group of men in the footage are not part of Operation Dudula, either an anti-migrant movement. This is a Zulu regiment led by Phakela Mthakathi storming as they stormed Ingonyama Trust meeting in Durban, South Africa.
The dramatic disruption sent shockwaves through the gathering as the group reportedly demanded answers over issues surrounding the management of Ingonyama Trust land. The Ingonyama Trust administers about 2.8 million hectares (28,000 square kilometers) of communal land in KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa, which accounts for roughly 29.67% of the province’s total land area.
The confrontation comes amid growing tensions involving King Misuzulu kaZwelithini, the Ingonyama Trust Board and traditional leaders over the future of land held by the Trust. Mthakathi ultimately apologised, saying the group had not intended to disrespect amakhosi (Chiefs) who were present at the meeting.
Operation Dudula is a splinter group from a faction in the Put South Africans First movement, founded in 2021, an organisation that first popularised and renewed anti-immigrant campaigns on social media before finding expression on the ground. Led by Nhlanhla ‘Lux’ Dlamini, the group was active until 2025, when it took a low lying position. Most of the xenophobic attacks in 2026 were led by the March and March movement.
Amabutho is not related to Dudula Operation and its visit to Durban conference was solely on the issues of land, traditional leadership and the future of Ingonyama Trust, in KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa.
The Besana Mail examined a video shared on X (formerly Twitter) claiming to show people under the Dudula Operation fighting fellow South Africans and found the claim to be FALSE.
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