SA Public Protector Denies Receiving Complaint From ZHRC On Healthcare For Migrants

The Office of the Public Protector South Africa (PPSA) has dismissed claims that it received a formal complaint from the Zimbabwe Human Rights Commission (ZHRC) regarding the alleged denial of healthcare services to Zimbabwean nationals in South Africa.

In a statement issued on Monday, the PPSA clarified that although it did host a ZHRC delegation on 10 and 11 September 2024 for a benchmarking visit, the discussions were centred around institutional strengthening, tackling corruption, and general service delivery issues, not the treatment of migrants in the health sector. The statement reads:

Consequently, and upon the request of the ZHRC, on 14 October 2024, the PPSA shared documents with the ZHRC that would assist to strengthen the ZHRC’s institutional capacity to investigate malfeasance in its own country.

At no point did the discussions then, nor recently, focus on the denial of Zimbabwean nationals access to health care services in South Africa.

We are therefore surprised by reports in the media about discussions, which purportedly occurred recently, and were centred around matters relating to Zimbabwean nationals being denied access to healthcare services in South Africa, neither do we have record of a complaint of that kind.

The clarification follows public remarks by Zimbabwe Human Rights Commission (ZHRC) Chairperson Jessie Majome, who recently told South African broadcaster Newzroom Afrika that her commission had engaged the PPSA over rising reports of Zimbabweans being denied access to public hospitals.

Majome had expressed hope that the talks would pave the way for a rights-based solution to help Zimbabwean migrants secure medical care in South Africa.

However, the PPSA says no formal complaint was lodged during the ZHRC’s benchmarking visit in September 2024.

Instead, discussions focused on broader issues such as institutional capacity, corruption, and service delivery.

In recent weeks, groups like Operation Dudula and March & March have been blocking undocumented immigrants from receiving treatment at public clinics and hospitals.

The PPSA stressed that its core role is to support peer institutions like the ZHRC in promoting good governance and human rights enforcement in their respective countries. It said:

As one of the leading institutions of its kind both continentally and globally, the PPSA has committed to assisting the ZHRC to strengthen its impact to better serve the people of Zimbabwe, in line with international standards followed by institutions of this kind, which are to uphold the rule of law, protect human rights and enforce good governance in its own country.