Six illegal immigrants lose case
THE Gauteng High Court, Johannesburg, has ruled in favour of Home Affairs Minister Dr Aaron Motsoaledi following an application by a group of illegal immigrants that their detention at the Modderbee Correctional Services Centre in Benoni was unlawful and against the immigration and refugee acts.
However, the court found no basis for this argument, saying the mere expression of intention to apply for asylum does not trigger the protections of the Refugees Act requirement to show good cause for illegal entry and to stay in the country.
At the centre of the matter is an application by Thomas Godiso, Abi Osman Yusuf and four others on an urgent basis.
They were seeking to interdict the minister and other respondents from detaining, prosecuting and deporting them until their status has been lawfully and finally determined in terms of the Refugees Act.
The applicants also sought declarations that their continuing detention is unlawful and that they are entitled to remain lawfully in South Africa until their applications for refugee status are finally determined.
In addition, the applicants also sought orders directing the minister and director-general of Home Affairs, that upon submission of their applications for asylum to issue them with temporary asylum seeker permits within 15 days, pending finalisation of their asylum seeker applications, including the exhaustion of their right of review or appeal.
Judge Dunstan Mlambo on Thursday dismissed the application by the six illegal immigrants.
He also ordered the applicants to pay the minister, his director-general, and the national director of public prosecution’s costs for the amendment application.
“The first, second, third and fourth respondents are directed to approach the magistrate’s court, for the extension of time should the review or appeal process not be finalised within the 60-day period.
The applicants, some of them from Ethiopia and Somalia, have argued that they were persecuted in their home countries.
Degefa Lembore and Temesgen Matiwos were arrested on September 1, 2023, in Germiston and Johannesburg, while Godiso and Teketel Hajiso were arrested on June 2 and August 3, 2023 in Daveyton.
They argued in court that while living in Tigray, Ethiopia, they were persecuted by the ruling party for their political and religious beliefs due to their mobilisation efforts as members of the Ethiopian People’s Revolutionary Party, an opposition political party in that country.
They further stated that Ethiopia’s ruling party terrorised, persecuted, tortured and killed members of their political party, including their family members, leading to them seeking refuge in South Africa.
The immigrants also said that they were not aware of the procedure to be followed when applying for asylum.
As a result they were unaware of both the old and new regulations promulgated in terms of the Refugees Act, they said.