SA court rules in favour of Zim asylum seekers

SA court rules in favour of Zim asylum seekers

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By Ernest Mabuza

THE Pretoria High Court has appointed a lawyer to protect a group of asylum seekers at Rosettenville and Marabastad refugee reception offices and to act in their interests.

The court also ruled last week that the practice and policy of receiving applications for asylum at the two refugee reception offices was unconstitutional and unlawful in the manner of scheduling appointments and the prescreening methods adopted.

Seven Zimbabweans who had crossed the border illegally went to the offices to apply for asylum and were told they did not qualify for refugee status.

In an attempt to limit queues, the Marabastad and Rosettenville offices devised two new processes that the court criticised.

One was an "appointment system", which meant that an asylum seeker would not be given an asylum seeker permit during the first visit, but would be given an appointment date for consultation with the refugee office.

The appointment can be up to a year in the future and during this time, the asylum seeker remains an illegal foreigner and is liable to be arrested, detained and deported.

The second system is the "pre-screening procedure" which is used in order to remove people the department thinks are not really seeking asylum.

Judge Carel Rabie said an effect of an asylum-seeker permit was that the holder was in the country legally and could not be arrested and deported.

Rabie said that where procedures under the Refugee Act were applied in a way that prejudiced asylum seekers, this had the potential of violating the constitutional rights of those people and their rights to dignity, freedom and security.

However, the court said the decision to appoint advocate Nadine Fourie as curator ad litem for six months should not be regarded as being aimed at policing the actions of government by the court.

The court said the ruling should be seen as protecting a group of unknown people who could not act for themselves and needed protection.

The curator is empowered to investigate the circumstances of asylum seekers, the implementation of departmental policies regarding access to refugee offices and to institute legal proceedings on behalf of asylum seekers.

Home affairs department spokesman Jacky Mashapu said the minister and director-general were studying the judgment. - Business Day

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