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SA Home Affairs denies flouting a moratorium on Zim deportations
07 Oct 2011 at 05:19hrs | Views
South Africa's Home Affairs Minister Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma on Thursday denied that her department is flouting a moratorium on the deportation of unregistered Zimbabweans.
Zimbabweans who have been living in South Africa illegally had two years to get their papers in order as part of an agreement with Home Affairs.
However, human rights group Passop has accused the ministry of deporting immigrants while the moratorium is in place.
The group's spokesperson Braam Hanekom said this has created confusion.
"What we were led to believe is that the other deadline was extended because of some pressure from the general public," he said.
Dlamini-Zuma said if Zimbabweans are being repatriated it is because they recently broke immigration laws.
"The moratorium was for specific people who entered South Africa at a specific time. There is no moratorium for a person who comes from Zimbabwe today and breaks our immigration law," she said.
Zimbabweans who have been living in South Africa illegally had two years to get their papers in order as part of an agreement with Home Affairs.
However, human rights group Passop has accused the ministry of deporting immigrants while the moratorium is in place.
"What we were led to believe is that the other deadline was extended because of some pressure from the general public," he said.
Dlamini-Zuma said if Zimbabweans are being repatriated it is because they recently broke immigration laws.
"The moratorium was for specific people who entered South Africa at a specific time. There is no moratorium for a person who comes from Zimbabwe today and breaks our immigration law," she said.
Source - ewn
