Home Affairs will have to allow the Afghan nationals into the country Photo Latestjobs
South Africa – The Department of Home Affairs has lost the legal battle over the 22 Afghan nationals seeking asylum permits. The Gauteng High Court in Pretoria issued judgement yesterday confirming the interim order as final with the DHA saying it “will abide by the ruling”.
Home Affairs refused the Afghan nationals entry into the country despite a court order stating the department should grant them permission to seek asylum. Home Affairs Minister, Dr. Aaron Motsoaledi said he believed South Africa was being undermined by the US because it was a US NGO who took the department to court. However, Dr. Vusumuzi Sibanda, Chairperson of the African Diaspora Forum, believes the minister has no proof to back up his claims and it is unfortunate to see him think this way.
“It’s very unfortunate to talk about the minister looking at South Africa as being targeted when people came into the country and they say they were looking for asylum. They had a well-founded fear of the Taliban. An NGO that is of American origin has been the one that has taken the matter to court and then [the minister] assumed that there is a conspiracy theory. I think it’s very sad because the minister is running from shadows and ghosts.”
Sibanda explained Motsoaledi’s claims about the US undermining the country has no backing to it. It was not the country that lodged the complaint but the NGO.
“The minister of Home Affairs is making statements that are based on nothing but conjecture because there are no facts there. How an NGO can be linked with the American Embassy because it was not the American Embassy that made the application but the NGO.”
Following procedure
Motsoaledi believes there is no case to let the Afghan nationals enter the country as asylum seekers. The manner in which they enter is not how those seeking asylum enter. They are not proceeded by a letter or in large groups.
“When people come as refugee, they are not proceeded by a letter by a big law firm telling us what to do. Secondary they are not brought by an NGO from another country, in this case the US, who seems to be forcing us to take these people in,” he said speaking to Salaamedia. The DHA followed up by stating this court case “should not be interpreted as opening floodgates for spurious asylum claims”.
Sibanda believes the mechanisms in place will ensure that only those who are refugees and really do seek asylum will be able to enter into the country.
“The Refugees Act has got its own mechanisms in place because people are interviewed and proper international procedures are followed. If somebody is not a refugee that would come out in the interview. All that information will all be clear. I don’t see the reason why we should always be assuming the worst when we know that if somebody’s lying that should come out in the application process and they’ll be rejected.”
Sibanda is confused as to why the minister did not allow the department to follow proper procedure instead of burdening the department with legal fees and taking the case to court.
SMread: Home Affairs challenges court order allowing entry to 22 Afghan asylum seekers
The reasons for rejecting the Afghan nationals made no sense
Sibanda rejects Motsoaledi’s reasons for rejecting the Afghan nationals as “baseless”. From his point of view, the Afghan nationals pose no threat and the US gain nothing from them being here in the country until they leave for America.
“From what the minister says, if I remember correctly, he is asserting the fact that the country is under attack and these people are not necessarily people from Afghanistan. They are spies of America that are trying to spy on South Africa. That is actually sad. You then realise the minister is talking about something that has got nothing to do with the Taliban because the Americans were fighting the Taliban. He is talking about a cold war between South Africa and the Taliban.”
For Sibanda, the Afghan nationals pose no threat to the country and the US is not trying to undermine South Africa. Sibanda believes proper procedure should have been followed in this situation instead of running to the courts and media.
To hear what Dr. Vusi Sibanda said about the minister and why his involvement was wrong, you can listen to the podcast here
