Motsoaledi ‘did not tell police to target foreigners’
HOME Affairs Minister Dr Aaron Motsoaledi, has dismissed widely circulated media reports stating that he had given police an instruction to conduct spot checks and ascertain the immigration status of foreign nationals.
In his response to the reports, the minister cited section 41 of South Africa’s Immigration Act which states that, “when so requested by an immigration officer or a police officer, any person shall identify himself or herself as a citizen, permanent resident or foreigner”.
The act also states that the immigration officer or police officer “shall take reasonable steps, as may be prescribed, to assist the person in verifying his or her identity or status, and thereafter, if necessary, detain him or her in terms of section 34”.
“From this act it is evident that no law enforcement officer needs any instruction from a minister to pursue their work. The act itself gives such an instruction and this has been happening for the past 20 years since 2002,” said Motsoaledi.
He said law-enforcement officers had been applying this act since that period at roadblocks, in factories, agricultural establishments, in the hospitality industry, trucking industry and anywhere within South Africa’s borders.
He said if law-enforcement agents were given an ID number, a passport number or any documentation number, they could check the nationality via the 24-hour centre, set up for this purpose during the 2010 Soccer World Cup.
“Only after exhausting such steps as described in the regulations the police officer may find themselves having to arrest a person, if they still cannot ascertain their identity. The 24-hour centre is our proud legacy of the 2010 Soccer World Cup.”
The widely reported remarks, he said, stemmed from a response to a query by a member of the parliamentary portfolio committee on home affairs on September 20.
The question was about a member of the public who was put in custody for the whole weekend, waiting for Home Affairs officials to confirm whether he was documented or not.
Motsoaledi said things did not have to be that way because there was a legal mechanism to check on the spot the documentation status of a person.
“Anybody not aware that people have been identified in this manner since the act was promulgated in 2002 cannot put blame on me. Therefore, the media headlines and statements that suggest I have given instructions to police officers to stop people and ask for their identification is sensational and tries to create controversy where none exists,” Motsoaledi said.