The rise of hospital blockades: When politics endangers patients

South Africa is treading on dangerous ground. When hospitals are blockaded, doctors harassed, and mobs spread lies unchecked, we risk slipping from a constitutional democracy into a banana state. What is unfolding in KwaZulu-Natal and increasingly in other provinces is not protest in the name of justice. It is a reckless assault on public institutions, fuelled by misinformation and political opportunism. The silence of the state, coupled with the failure of the police to act decisively, only emboldens those who thrive on chaos.

The latest crisis centres on our healthcare system, where false claims are spreading that foreign nationals are running hospitals and firing South African nurses. At Durban’s Chief Albert Luthuli Central Hospital, protesters led by the so-called uMkhonto weSizwe Party's (MKP) Labour Desk blockaded entrances, spreading the outrageous lie that a “foreign nurse” has the power to hire and fire locals. This is nonsense. Employment in public hospitals follows a strict process: posts are advertised internally and externally, applications go through human resources, qualifications are verified, and interviews are conducted by a panel. 

Equally, in case of misconduct of an employee, it is handled through warnings, investigations, and disciplinary hearings, with Labour Unit oversight where necessary. No single individual, South African or foreign, can simply wake up and decide who stays or who goes. Protests built on such lies are not free expression; they are a dangerous distortion of reality. Worse, they undermine public confidence in healthcare at a time when millions depend on its fragile functioning.

The protest at Inkosi Albert Luthuli Hospital is not an isolated incident. It reflects a broader pattern of lawlessness where groups exploit public frustration for narrow agendas. Blocking hospitals is not activism, but it is sabotage. It is not a defence of workers, but it is an attack on the sick, the vulnerable, and the very principle of care. The MKP's Labour Desk, like other factions seeking relevance, is weaponising lies to remain in the headlines. This is opportunism at its most destructive. Hospitals are sacred spaces, not platforms of propaganda. To gamble with lives in pursuit of politics is unforgivable.

The bigger question is, where are the police? South Africa has laws, including the Regulation of Gatherings Act, that govern protests. Gatherings that block essential services or destabilise communities should not even be authorised. Yet week after week, we see MKP members marching through Durban and Johannesburg as if there are no consequences. By permitting these gatherings, the police are not upholding law and order; they are endangering it. This leniency emboldens agitators and sends the wrong message that mobs can destabilise the country under the banner of protest without repercussion. If law enforcement does not act decisively, South Africa risks becoming a playground of mobs, a banana state where the loudest liar sets the agenda.

Recent MKP protests in Durban and Johannesburg, staged in "support and hands off" of KwaZulu-Natal Police Commissioner Lieutenant-General Nhlanhla Mkhwanazi, are another example of lawlessness disguised as protest. When Mkhwanazi stood in front of cameras and raised serious allegations that threatened the safety of the country, President Cyril Ramaphosa acted responsibly. He placed Police Minister Senzo Mchunu on leave, appointed retired Deputy Chief Justice Mbuyiseni Madlanga to lead an inquiry, and tasked Professor Firoz Cachalia with heading the ministry in the interim. This is how a constitutional democracy resolves disputes: through lawful investigation, not mob theatrics.

Yet MKP spread propaganda that the Madlanga Commission had already “pre-empted results”, sowing distrust and undermining due process. As a citizen of this country, it's important to be clear at all times. It had proven wrong, as Mkhwanazi, armed with his knowledge and the understanding of what should not be done or done to avoid interference in policing, never needed protection from mobs. What he and South Africans need is a credible, independent inquiry, free from political exploitation. To discredit the Madlanga Commission even before it started its work was cheap politicking. 

Equally, what happened at Inkosi Albert Luthuli Central Hospital needs to be condemned. While these games play out, ordinary people suffer. Patients are turned away from hospital. TB sufferers miss critical doses of medication. Nurses fear reporting for duty. Such disruption in such a hospital with international standards places lives at risk due to lies and blockade. The human cost rarely makes headlines because it is quieter than the chants of protesters. But it is real. And it is devastating.

South Africa’s healthcare system has long depended on international medical professionals, especially in rural and underserved areas. They do not replace South Africans; they complement them, filling gaps, sharing expertise, and strengthening our system. They have delivered babies in rural clinics, performed life-saving surgeries, and advanced HIV, TB, and cancer research. Vilifying them is unjust and self-defeating. Without their contributions, many hospitals would collapse.

We are not talking about undocumented immigrants but professionals who are here legally, often trained in our own universities. And foreigners do not come only from Africa; they hail from every continent. Narrow xenophobia undermines both our dignity and our healthcare. The way forward requires courage. Government must adopt zero tolerance for intimidation and lies in healthcare spaces. Police must stop treating hospital disruptions as business as usual. The Constitution does not protect gatherings that threaten peace or block essential services. Such gatherings must be prevented, not permitted.

Equally, the state must communicate honestly with the public, debunking lies before they take root. Silence breeds suspicion. And in the long term, South Africa must invest more in training and retaining local healthcare workers, so shortages cannot be weaponised to spread xenophobic propaganda. The events in KwaZulu-Natal and the reckless protests driven by MKP are a wake-up call. South Africa risks normalising lies and lawlessness. We cannot allow hospitals to become battlegrounds, nor mobs to undermine lawful processes.

Hospitals are sanctuaries of life, not stages for propaganda. The police must enforce the law. The state must defend its institutions. Society must reject lies, no matter how loudly they are shouted.

If we fail, we may wake up one day to find that we are no longer a democracy but a banana republic, where chaos reigns and truth no longer matters.

(Memela is a former journalist and worked as a spokesperson for the provincial government. His views don't necessarily reflect those of the Sunday Tribune or IOL)