Zimbabwe community in SA raises alarm over harassment of ZEP holders

The Zimbabwean community in South Africa has raised concerns over what it describes as growing harassment and intimidation of Zimbabwe Exemption Permit (ZEP) holders by some South African immigration and law-enforcement officials.

In a statement issued on Tuesday, ZimCommunitySA condemned conduct captured in a video published by eMalahleni FM News, which appeared to show immigration officials questioning the validity of the ZEP and allegedly taunting a migrant.

The organisation said the incident raised serious concerns about the level of knowledge of immigration laws and directives among officials responsible for enforcing South Africa's immigration framework.

According to ZimCommunitySA, a senior officer featured in the video appeared to reject the validity and extension of the ZEP despite being informed that the Department of Home Affairs, under Minister Leon Schreiber, had extended the permit through Directive 21.

The ZEP is currently valid until May 28, 2027, with the extension covering approximately 178,000 Zimbabwean nationals. The extension allows qualifying permit holders to continue living, working and studying in South Africa while their status remains protected.

"Officials cannot become participants in the vigilante narrative against migrants. An officer's unfamiliarity with a directive does not invalidate that directive, nor does it give an official licence to ridicule or intimidate a person asserting their lawful status," ZimCommunitySA said.

The organisation warned that the continued reliance on administrative directives to extend the status of large numbers of migrants could leave ZEP holders vulnerable when the directives are not properly understood or consistently implemented by officials on the ground.

It said the consequences could be severe, including loss of employment and livelihoods, difficulties accessing services, arrest and detention, as well as alleged extortion.

"The ZEP experience also exposes a serious structural problem. Reliance on successive administrative directives to extend the status of hundreds of thousands of people leaves permit holders vulnerable when those directives are poorly understood or inconsistently implemented on the ground," the organisation said.

"The consequences are real: people can lose employment and livelihoods, experience difficulties accessing services, face arrest or detention, and become vulnerable to intimidation and alleged extortion."

ZimCommunitySA also raised concerns over reports that some migrants had allegedly been asked for money by individuals claiming to be law-enforcement officers.

The organisation called on the Department of Home Affairs to ensure that immigration and South African Police Service officials are properly briefed whenever directives affecting migrants are introduced, extended or amended.

It also called for an investigation into the conduct captured in the video and into broader allegations of abuse and extortion involving migrants.

The organisation stressed that the presence of a foreign national in South Africa does not, by itself, determine whether that person is lawfully present.

It noted that millions of foreign nationals live in South Africa under various visas, permits and exemptions and said immigration enforcement should be based on an individual's actual legal status rather than nationality.

ZimCommunitySA said Zimbabweans holding special permits had contributed to the South African economy over many years through employment, rental payments, taxes, businesses and participation in essential services.

"We do not oppose lawful immigration enforcement. We oppose arbitrary, uninformed and degrading enforcement. Being a foreign national does not make someone illegal. Being a migrant does not suspend one's right to dignity," the organisation said.

The concerns come amid continued uncertainty and debate around the long-term immigration status of Zimbabweans living in South Africa, with community organisations urging authorities to ensure that immigration policies and directives are consistently understood and applied by officials responsible for enforcement.