Home Affairs Rebukes Disinformation

The Department of Home Affairs is pushing back against a disinformation campaign over a Constitutional Court judgment on asylum applications. The department said false claims are circulating that Minister Leon Schreiber or the department decided to suspend 'good cause' interviews for asylum seekers.

The change is a direct consequence of a binding Constitutional Court judgment handed down in July, which confirmed that sections of the Refugees Act were unconstitutional and invalid. The judgment affects provisions that could prevent an asylum seeker from having their application considered on its merits because of how they entered or remained in South Africa.

The Inter-Ministerial Committee on Migration will meet with relevant departments, legal experts, and other stakeholders to determine a lawful and practical way forward. Minister Mmamoloko Kubayi has urged South Africans to remain calm and avoid speculation or misinformation.

The government says it remains committed to border security, effective migration management, and upholding the rule of law. A recent directive by the department of home affairs instructs refugee reception offices to accept asylum applications from individuals who entered South Africa illegally.

The directive follows the Constitutional Court ruling that declared key sections of the Refugees Act invalid. Asylum officers are now processing applications from anyone seeking asylum, regardless of their legal status on entering the country.

Protests have erupted outside the Department of Home Affairs' Refugee Reception Centre in Durban, with a group of disgruntled South Africans demanding that asylum application processing be halted. The protest came as hundreds of foreign nationals queued outside the centre to have their asylum applications processed.

Gauteng Judge President Aubrey Ledwaba has turned to a full court to seek clarity on the approach towards matters involving undocumented asylum seekers who are detained and facing deportation. This comes after two Judges of the Gauteng High Court reached opposing conclusions on two matters dealing with the same issue.

The department's directive has sparked widespread debate across social media, with human rights organisations welcoming the Constitutional Court's decision and the subsequent directive as a victory for international refugee protection and constitutional human rights.