Contempt for court as SA tries to sneak foreigners out

Controversy continues to stalk the Lindela Repatriation Centre amid claims that the state, which refuses to acknowledge wrongdoing, is illegally keeping foreigners locked up -- and even trying to deport them before their cases have been decided by the courts. 

Last week, the state tried to subvert the justice system by arranging to deport foreigners held at Lindela before their cases had been finalised by the courts -- which later ordered their immediate release.

Yakubi Adeyemi* was placed on a plane bound for Nigeria in the early hours of March 28 -- but the flight was halted after an urgent court order was obtained by the Legal Resource Centre (LRC).

Adeyemi is one of 22 men and women who had been held at Lindela for longer than the 120-day limit allowed for by the Immigration Act of 2002. After the failed bid to deport him, the department of home affairs was ordered by the South Gauteng High Court in Johannesburg to release the entire group, in accordance with the legislation.

According to section 34 of the Act, an immigration officer may arrest an illegal foreigner without the need for a warrant and detain them for a period of no longer than 30 days, after which a subsequent 90-day order must be confirmed through a warrant issued by a magistrate.

After 120 days of incarceration has elapsed, the Act stipulates all detainees should be released regardless of their official residence status.

Additionally the Constitution states "everyone has the right not to be deprived of freedom arbitrarily or without just cause" -- a right afforded both to South Africans and foreigners.

"The department's behaviour [in trying to deport foreigners before the conclusion of the legal process] smacks of arrogance and indicates they are merely trying to prove a point as to who is in charge while people's dignity is violated and their livelihood is being put at risk," LRC attorney Naseema Fakir told the Mail & Guardian.

The LRC had on March 20 asked the court to order the state to release the group of foreigners.

After earning a postponement in the case, the department of home affairs failed to appear in court on Thursday March 29, after which the court ordered the state to immediately release all applicants in the matter.

However, in between court appearances the department had arranged to deport several applicants in the case.

The LRC said it appeared that the haste with which the state tried to deport Adeyemi, who has two young children with his South African partner, was due to the fact that the department had already paid for his airline ticket -- before his case arrived in court.

"The department may look at this from a monetary point of view, but it is ridiculously traumatic for the individuals involved. There is no dignity in simply putting a person on a plane in order to get rid of them," Fakir said.

But the department of home affairs said it had been well within its rights to deport Adeyemi.

"There was no court order at the time the applicants were taken to OR Tambo International Airport to be deported. The order was granted at 5am on 29th March 2012. There was therefore no violation of the court order," the department said.

Ignoring court orders

But even after the court order stipulating immediate released was issued, another Nigerian detainee, Mogeni Oni*, was placed on a bus at Lindela ahead of a planned deportation. After emergency enquiries were made by the LRC as to why Oni was in the process of being deported, he was returned to the confinement area at Lindela.

The 22 men and women were eventually released at 7pm on March 30 -- nearly 30 hours after the court order instructing immediate release was issued.

State not to blame

The department of home affairs acknowledged that the 120-day limit for extended detention applied, but would not shoulder any blame for exceeding this period. 

"The department works with resident embassies and high commissions in South Africa to verify the nationality of deportees and to process their travel documents. This process sometimes takes longer than 120 days," the department said.

The latest events follow a reported uprising at Lindela in which detainees, mainly of Nigerian and Ethiopian descent, were understood to have demanded a meeting with immigration officials after some were kept at the facility for more than nine months.

After a violent confrontation, several internees were reported to have sustained serious injuries, with one understood to have been taken to hospital after the incident.

After initially failing to respond to questions posed by the M&G on the unrest, the department eventually conceded that an "altercation" had occurred at Lindela but was "quickly brought under control" by officials at the centre.

Repeated offences

Earlier in March the LRC secured the release of a Nigerian and an Angolan who were unlawfully detained as illegal immigrants.

The Nigerian, who had a valid work permit, was held for 114 days, while the Angolan was detained for 132 days without a warrant.

The department has been accused of regarding deportation procedures with contempt. 

"It seems as though they are truly a law unto themselves and court orders and the like have little effect on them," said Douglas Leresche, a project co-ordinator at People Against Suffering, Oppression and Poverty (PASSOP), an NGO working to protect and promote the rights of all refugees, asylum seekers and immigrants in South Africa.

'I don't understand their problem'

While some of 22 foreigners involved in last week's incident are illegal immigrants, others say they have documents proving their stay in South Africa is legitimate.

Damurah Mekonen* an Ethiopian national, businessman and resident of Durban for the past 11 years says he was arrested in late October while trying to have his residence permit renewed at Home Affairs offices in Glenwood.

Mekonen said he was kept in Durban Westville prison for over a month before being transferred to Lindela, where he was kept for four months.

He said no answers about his continued detention were forthcoming.

"These people know nothing. They simply arrest you and ask questions later. If you ask where they are taking you or why, they laugh at you," said Mekonen.

"I am not a criminal and I have done nothing wrong. I am here legally and I pay taxes so I don't understand their problem," Merkonen added.

Merkonen, Adeyemi, Oni and the 19 other applicants now have two weeks to sort out the legalities of their stay in South Africa. After that, should they fail to secure the correct documentation, they will again face deportation.

Beyond their control

The process of organising visas and permits has been criticised as overly complex, with many immigrants saying it takes up to three days of constant queuing simply to renew a visa.

The constant delays have led to a number of instances of immigration companies and individuals taking the department of home affairs to court.

Some of those being held at Lindela say they ended up there because of reasons that were beyond their control.

Nadine Nzapa, a security guard from the Democratic Republic of Congo who has been in South Africa for six years, has been kept at Lindela for three weeks, after she was arrested for not having a valid work permit.

Nzapa says she had not renewed her papers because her employer had threatened to fire her if she took time off to sort out her visa.

"There was nothing I could do. I need money to feed my children and I could not take off work," a tearful Nzapa told the M&G.

As a result of her detention, Nzapa's six children, the oldest of which is 13, have been left to fend for themselves at her home in Yeoville.

"I don't know if they are going to school or looking after themselves. My children sometimes phone me and say they were given food, from who I don't know," Nzapa said.

*Names changed for fears of victimisation

- M&G

Deportations of Zimbabweans to recommence soon

The South Africa's Ambassador to Zimbabwe has disclosed that all those who did not apply for permits and criminals who fled from Zimbabwe will be flushed out of South Africa soon.

Speaking to Radio VOP in an exclusive interview in Bulawayo on Thursday after the South Africa-Zimbabwe Business Forum on Investment and Trade Initiative here, Ambassador Vusi Mavimbela said:

“There is nothing more that we can do as a country, no one wants to keep a person who entered their country illegally. Those who failed to apply or get their permits will be flushed out of South Africa.”

He added that the government of Zimbabwe is aware that there are Zimbabweans who failed to get permits to stay in South Africa and they would be deported back home because they failed to apply for permits or the process failed them because they did not deserve.

“Zimbabwean government is aware of our next move and they have agreed to have their people back home,” said Ambassador Mavimbela.

The 31 December 2010 deadline saw only 275 763 Zimbabwe registering to legalise their stay in South Africa and Ambassador Mavimbela urged people to go and collect their permits. He said those that had not yet been called to collect their permits were a sign that they failed the process.

Many Zimbabweans had over the past few years entered South Africa illegally to escape the deteriorating political and economic climate in the country. Solidarity Peace Trust recently estimated that there were about 1.5 million Zimbabweans living in South Africa.

(from Radio VOP)

Congolese hit back at Xeno&Homophobe Zulu king

THE Congolese community in South Africa has accused Zulu King Goodwill Zwelithini of being irresponsible and fanning the fires of xenophobic attacks against foreign nationals.

Blanchard Kimuena, spokesman for the community, which calls itself the Congolese Freedom and Justice Fighters, was fuming yesterday, saying Zwelithini's attack on them shows that he was not in touch with reality on the ground.

"The King's criticism of the Congolese community is unfair and irresponsible. The King's baseless attack on foreigners shows that the monarch is out of touch with realities on the African continent, a tangible proof that he does not regularly travel to African countries to see the impact of misery, poverty and abuse of power by the so-called friends of South Africa," Kimuena said.

The Congolese were responding to Zwelithini's attack on their recent march to Parliament demanding that Zuma denounce the re-election of President Joseph Kabila in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC).

The Zulu King used his address before the opening of the KwaZulu-Natal legislature on Monday to express his disappointment with the Congolese nationals' march against Zuma.

In his address, Zwelithini said: "They must understand that President Zuma was elected by the majority of South Africans and they do not have a right to march against him .

"If such behaviour is allowed to continue, I have no doubt that locals might ask themselves many questions, and I hope it will never happen."

Kimuena insisted that their march was not directed at Zuma's administration and the ANC.

"Our main concern is that South Africa, as the continent leader, is setting a bad example by indirectly supporting dictatorial regimes in exchange for economic interests, which include oil, gold and diamonds contracts.

"Hard evidence suggests that the DRC elections were rigged by Joseph Kabila, and yet South Africa kept quiet and swiftly approved its results, which is tantamount to propping a government that lacks legitimacy." - Sowetan

Delivery issues dominate hearings

SERVICE delivery issues took centre stage during public hearings on the Protection of Information Bill in Mamelodi, east of Pretoria, yesterday.

Instead of expressing their feelings on the proposed bill, which seeks to make it a criminal offence to reveal classified state information, most people who attended the proceedings talked about how the State was failing them.

The issue of the government's failure to control foreigners living in the country also topped the list. "During apartheid, no one would see a situation where people from outside this country would come and do as they please," said one attendant, amid cheering from about 1,000 people who attended at the International Assembly of God.

The community also raised concerns about the illegal occupation of many RDP houses in the township.

The residents said it was rare for community leaders in the area to hold public meetings with them and they had to use yesterday's opportunity to express their anger.

Tshwane DA leader Solly Msimanga said the bill amounted to a full-scale legislative assault on the freedom of the country and robs South Africans of their basic right to know what their government is up to.

"It offends the very basic constitutional rights of access to information and freedom of expression," he said.

The bill, in its current form, is opposed by every opposition party in Parliament. It is also opposed by Cosatu, Samwu and Sadtu, by the Nelson Mandela Foundation, by Archbishop Emeritus Desmond Tutu, and the Right to Know Campaign, a collective civil society group representing more than 400 organisations.

Meanwhile, there were mixed reactions among political parties and civic organisations yesterday, during the public hearings of the Protection of Information Bill in Sharpeville in the Vaal.

Chairman of the National Council of Provinces' ad hoc committee on the bill Nosipho Ntwanambi had her hands full trying to bring the house to order. ANC delegates and its tripartite alliance partners Cosatu and SACP boldly told the packed Rhoda Yende Hall that they support the bill.

ANC representative Sello Pitso said: "I welcome the bill, it will help make South Africa a better country. It will not victimise the citizens of this country."

Bheki Ntsele attacked the print media, claiming that it was hiding behind the public interest.

"Every citizen of this country has rights. It is not fair for the newspaper to report about people's health like they did with Dr Manto Tshabalala-Msimang and the report on Kgalema Motlanthe that he fathered a child in Limpopo," Ntsele said.

- Sowetan

Foreigners streaming into WCape

Foreigners are streaming into the Western Cape in their thousands, becoming both the victims and perpetrators of crime, MPs heard on Wednesday.

“An estimated 8 000 a month are flowing into the province,” provincial police commissioner Arno Lamoer told Parliament's police portfolio committee.

The committee was being briefed by each of the nine provincial police commissioners on crime statistics, following the release of these in September.

“If you see the influence of foreign nationals in the Western Cape, you will be shocked,” Lamoer told MPs.

He invited them to take a trip with him to the Bellville railway station.

“You will see what it looks like there with foreign nationals – and it's only Somalians we have in that (Bellville) area.”

His power-point presentation to the committee – a copy of which was not immediately available – also referred to Nigerians, Congolese, and Namibians in the province.

Lamoer said home affairs in the Western Cape was processing hundreds of foreigners each week.

“Home affairs gave an indication that at their processing centre, where they (foreigners) apply for asylum, we're talking about 500 to 800 that come per day. The processing is about 800 per week.”

Lamoer referred to a gang of Namibians robbing houses along so-called green belts in Cape Town's southern suburbs.

“There was a group of foreign nationals, Ovambos from Namibia, that we arrested. We arrested them but they were released on bail.”

Foreigners were also on the receiving end when it came to crime.

Police had investigated the rise in business robberies in the province, which started after the 2010 World Cup, and had discovered that only a third of the victims were South African.

Many foreigners had established spaza shops or were operating businesses from containers or from their homes. Many did not bank their takings and slept on the premises.

“”One of the major problems... is the spaza shops, the container shops, and the house shops. Eighty percent of business robberies involve these establishments.

“But only 33 percent of the victims of these robberies are South Africans; the rest are all foreign nationals. We have a serious problem.”

Lamoer also questioned the legality of many of these businesses. He criticised Cape Town authorities for not properly applying city by-laws.

“What we've discovered is that foreign nationals are not supposed to trade unless they have a working permit and a trade permit.”

Lamoer said this was a “major challenge” and one that he was taking up with the department of home affairs.

He also reported that foreigners were arming themselves.

“We arrested – from April 1 to December 31 last year – a total of 72 foreign nationals with 70 illegal firearms. They are arming themselves because they need to protect themselves.”

On illegal drugs, Lamoer said police in the province had, since April 1, 2010, confiscated drugs with a street value of over R12 billion.

“Every single day we confiscate drugs,” he said.

The police, together with their traffic counterparts, were working to block the entrance of drugs into the province.

“We started in January last year, specifically in the Beaufort West area. In the first week, we stopped buses, as well as taxis and courier vans... and in the first week confiscated R50 million worth of drugs from these buses.”

The police had contacted the bus companies and instituted a scheme to tag loaded luggage.

“Some of them listened, but last week, on Friday, we got another bus with khat on board. There was no tag. We arrested the bus drivers and we confiscated the bus....”

The owners of the bus where now giving the police “very good co-operation”.

A minibus that was stopped while being transported on an auto-carrier in the southern Cape was found to be “full of dagga”.

Lamoer said illegal liquor was another big problem.

“We confiscate liquor every week. Over the past year, more than a million litres was confiscated.”

On gang violence in the Western Cape, Lamoer said this was linked to drugs.

“As soon as we put on the pressure and confiscate drugs, the gang violence goes up.”

Lamoer said tik was not the most-used drug.

“Heroin is the one, and it's more addictive than any other drug... It is a major, major problem,” he said.

The provincial police commissioners from the Free State and North West provinces, who preceded Lamoer at the briefing, both also reported an increase in crime related to foreigners. – Sapa

Sleeping foreigners severely beaten

Eight foreigners sleeping in their shack in the Doornkuil informal settlement, south of Joburg, were seriously injured by men who assaulted them using knobkieries, baseball bats and golf clubs.

Johannesburg Emergency Management Services spokesman Robert Mulaudzi said paramedics went to the informal settlement on Wednesday. They attended to eight foreigners who had suffered serious injuries.

“They told us that they were sleeping when a group of between five and six men stormed into their shack and immediately attacked them,” Mulaudzi said.

The Zimbabweans and Malawians were taken to Chris Hani Baragwanath Academic Hospital for treatment.

Mulaudzi said three were treated for minor injuries, while five with serious injuries were kept in hospital.

The victims, who were working for a construction company, told emergency services that the attack was the first of its kind since they came to live in the informal settlement.

Mulaudzi said the victims told them that some of the local residents had, in the past, demanded cash from them when they got their wages. They would demand between R50 and R100 from them.

“We can’t at this stage claim that it was a xenophobic-related attack. We will monitor the situation,” he said.

In another incident, two Bangladeshi shopkeepers died at the weekend after being severely burnt whentheir container shop in Thokoza was torched. A group of men poured petrol into their shop and set it alight.

SA experienced explosive xenophobic attacks in 2008 in which 62 people were killed and more than 1 000 people fled their homes. They had to be placed at various police stations and churches.

The foreigners were accused of stealing jobs and RDP homes meant for locals. - The Star

Refugees still fear for their lives

Nearly three years after the xenophobic violence in South African townships, some foreigners are still living in what was meant to be temporary shelters because they are afraid of going back to their former communities.

Two groups of refugees -- one near the De Deur police station in Orange Farm, south of Johannesburg, and the other at the Rural Institute for Education and Training (Riet) family guidance centre in Randfontein -- seem to have slipped through the cracks. The Gauteng department of social development said all camps it was responsible for had been closed down.

Spokesperson for the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) Alphonse Munyaneza said this week that it would help to "reintegrate" them back into communities.

The groups were initially housed at a camp in Akasia, Pretoria, and 10 months later (in 2009) were moved to the shelters in Orange Farm and Randfontein, which were paid for by the UNHCR for two months until the refugees could find alternative accommodation.

Speaking to the Mail & Guardian outside the Riet centre, a large, well-kept building with tight security, Abdul Ahli from Somalia said he feared for his life if he returned to the townships.

"I am a human being. I don't want to die in South Africa. I don't want to be killed by someone who doesn't even know my language," he said.

Ahli owned a spaza shop in Diepsloot, north of Johannesburg, before the xenophobic attacks broke out. He escaped but said: "Look here, they burnt my leg," pointing to a dark scar on his left foot.

Ahli is one of 61 refugees still living at the centre. Normally, the centre houses abused women and children.

Ivan Kortje, the centre's manager, tried to have them evicted but the group obtained a court order prohibiting him from carrying this out. He said this week that the centre was now overcrowded and he had to pay high water and electricity bills. "I will never help xenophobia victims again," he said. Kortje's attorney, Tashya Giyapersad, said: "They are claiming to be refugees but they are not. They are moving in and out freely and some of them are earning money. These people are not disenfranchised". (From the Mail and Guardian)