Appalling experience - Airline staff won't allow my wife to travel to Durban, our home, without buying a flight ticket to leave South Africa within 3 months

Emirates Airlines - Complaint Reference DXB/X/MJ/*** (unresolved and now without any channel available for further contact). My wife travelled from our home (Durban, South Africa) to Australia circa 6 months ago to spend time with some family members as part of a recuperation programme after experiencing trauma in South Africa. All was well until reaching Dubai on her return leg home - she was refused boarding for her flight and was advised that she needed to purchase a flight to return to Australia within 3 months, or alternatively to purchase similar to go to the UK. Both she and I have UK passports, however have Visa's issued by South Africa Home Affairs that recognize us as long term residents with freedom to leave and re-enter South Africa at will. The Visa was presented to Emirates staff at that time and instead of being recognized for what it is, they were adamant she was a visitor rather than respecting her resident status (of 8 years). The complaint response completely disregarded her status and now due to an Emirates system glitch, we cannot even respond to progress matters further. To further add insult to injury, we also flew to Australia a few weeks ago and returned via Dubai, where the same issue was experienced leading to further stress, anxiety and inconvenience. As frequent travelers and with alternative choices for our travel we simply need Emirates to address their staff to understand the rights a Visa provides for those travelling with one. My reference is EK*** and my wife is EK*** should anyone from Emirates care enough to reach out to assist with resolution