Home PodcastJulie Alli Home Affairs challenges court order allowing entry to 22 Afghan asylum seekers

Home Affairs challenges court order allowing entry to 22 Afghan asylum seekers

by Luqmaan Rawat

South Africa – The Department of Home Affairs Minister, Dr. Aaron Motsoaledi, has accused the US-Based NGO, The Lifeline Foundation of using the legal system to undermine and ambush South Africa’s sovereignty. This is after the foundation, through its lawyers, took home affairs to court for not allowing the 22 Afghan nationals into the country.

This isn’t the first time such an incident has occurred. According to Motsoaledi, when America left Afghanistan back in 2021, they promised many Afghan nationals who were working for them asylum. It was during this time that an American NGO “insisted” that South Africa keep two plane loads of Afghans in the country while they are being vetted.

“In September we received a letter from a lawyer practising in South Africa who is said to have studied in the US telling us that she is representing an American NGO and informing us that there are two plane loads of Afghan nationals at Kabul Airport in Pakistan. They are heading to South Africa as brought by that American NGO and they are going to be here and seemingly enroute to the United States. They will be here while they are being vetted and the NGO will pay for everything and all that.”

The government took offence to the letter and raised concerns as to why South Africa should keep people who are not vetted in the country, said Motsoaledi. The letter also reminded South Africa of their international obligations, which further infuriated the government, and they refused to keep such individuals in the country.

 

The new case of the 22 Afghan nationals

After refusing the matter, everything seemed well and done. However, fast forward to this year and officials in Beitbridge received a letter from a group of lawyers informing officials they represent a group of 22 and their entry into the country should be facilitated.

“They don’t mention their nationality, where they come from or their names. They just said 22 people will arrive at the border. We are requesting you to prepare for their entry into South Africa by issuing them section 23 permits … Of course we were surprised because that’s not how people get asylum in a country. That’s not how it happens.”

A bus did arrive at the border carrying 25 people, three of whom were American missionaries. It was at this point officials understood it was these people in the bus that the letter spoke about. After checking their passports, they found the 22 Afghan had already spent 30 days in Zimbabwe which raised flags as to why they wanted asylum in South Africa.

“We spoke to the Zimbabwean authorities and asked them [about the Afghan nationals]. They said they came to Zimbabwe on holiday and we gave them visas on arrival. So we realised that this story about asylum is very vague so we never allowed them to come in.”  

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The court case

After refusing them entry, they returned the following day with a court order compelling the government to let them into the country. This came as a shock as no papers were filed. Motsoaledi later came to find out the papers were served but to a junior person in Beitbridge who only saw it four hours after the case was heard.

The court, realising the order was granted in the absence of Home Affairs, allowed them to do something within 24 hours. The order was supposed to be heard on the 7 March but a judge brought the date forward to 21 February. 

“There was a hearing here in Pretoria. A full hearing for which was supposed to take place on the 7th of March to hear this story and the judgement.  We sent them to Harare but we now understand they’ve left Zimbabwe and are in Zambia where they also applied for visitor visas.”

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The threat they may pose

One of the reasons the 22 Afghans were turned away was because they are a safety risk. They provided the court with a piece of paper written in Arabic and told a story of how the Taliban tracked them down and attacked them in Pakistan. If this is true and the Taliban tracked them down to South Africa, Motsoaledi is questioned whether the government could protect its citizens from such an attack.

“If it is true that the Taliban is looking for these people and attacking them, isn’t the US the biggest power on earth that can manage that situation? Can we in South Africa protect the citizens of this country against the Taliban if the Taliban decide to come for them? The US is the one who moved to Afghanistan. It is the one who moved out. They are the ones who said they will take these people into the US. Why don’t they do so?”

Motsoaledi does not believe the government can defend itself against the Taliban as they are “currently struggling to defend Mozambique”. Motsoaledi added that while South Africa has not accepted these people, they will accept asylum seekers provided they follow the proper rules and regulations. 

To hear more from Dr. Aaron Motsoaledi on the situation and how South Africa intends on protecting the borders, you can listen to the podcast here:

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