Healthcare under siege: undocumented migrants blocked

Ongoing tensions surrounding immigration and healthcare access in South Africa continues to bubble under, as a Congo national came to terms with this development in Durban this week.

- DAILY NEWS REPORTER

Christian Tchizungu Kwigomba's routine visit to Addington Hospital turned into a distressing outing when he was barred from entering the facility.

Kwigomba faced physical intimidation, not from hospital security, but from members of the self-appointed March on March Movement, who are enforcing their controversial mandate against undocumented immigrants.

This group has taken it upon themselves to monitor the entrance of the hospital, demanding identification from anyone seeking medical attention, effectively turning away those who cannot provide proof of South African citizenship.

The group's message was uncompromising: public healthcare, they asserted, was solely for South Africans who can produce an ID.

Kwigomba lamented, “I faced something that no human being should experience. Even pregnant women are being turned away. It's a matter of life or death”

His own health was precarious; as a diabetic reliant on medication.