A community clinic just north of Johannesburg has become the frontline of a battle in South Africa over whether foreigners can access public health facilities.
What started as a small local action in one area in 2022 has spread, with activists from the avowedly anti-migrant group, Operation Dudula, picketing some hospitals and clinics in Gauteng and KwaZulu-Natal provinces. They check identity cards and stop anyone who is not South African from entering.
Despite some arrests, the authorities seem unable to prevent the pickets.
The site of their latest campaign is in Diepsloot – a poor township of more than 200,000 people near the country's commercial hub.
On a cool, spring Thursday morning, Sicelokuhle Moyo, dressed in a blue-and-beige skirt, thick windbreaker and a black headwrap, set out early for the clinic.
The Zimbabwean, who has lived in South Africa since 2006, was going there, as she often did, to collect her medication for a chronic condition.
But this time, when she reached the gate, things were different. Two men wearing white T-shirts emblazoned with the slogan Operation Dudula – Mass Deportation were stationed at the entrance. They demanded that everyone produce their documents before being allowed inside.
I said that I had a passport. They said, they don't take passports. They want IDs only, Ms Moyo said, hiding her frustration behind a polite smile.
Anyone unable to produce a South African ID book was turned away.
Slowly walking from the entrance, Ms Moyo joined a group of women by the roadside, young children tied to their backs, waiting with uncertainty for what would happen next.
South Africa is home to about 2.4 million migrants, just less than 4% of the population, according to official figures. Most come from neighbouring countries such as Lesotho, Zimbabwe and Mozambique, which have a history of providing migrant labour to their wealthy neighbour.
Xenophobia has long been an issue in South Africa, which has been accompanied by occasional outbursts of deadly violence, and anti-migrant sentiment has become a key political talking-point. Operation Dudula has transformed from an anti-migrant pressure group into a political party.
Despite the constitution guaranteeing the right to access healthcare for everyone in the country, regardless of nationality or immigration status, party leader Zandile Dabula insists that what her organization is doing at public clinics is justified.
Amidst rising tensions, the Deputy Health Minister Joe Phaahla stated that the government's stance is against targeting foreign nationals, asserting that health is a human right. However, Operation Dudula’s actions have found sympathy among some South Africans, as the anti-migrant sentiment continues to impact both migrants and citizens alike.
