News24 | Government headed back to court over asylum judgment

• Government will ask the courts for a supervisory order and potentially a suspension of the judgment.
• Justice Minister Mmamoloko Kubayi insists the move is not an attempt to delay compliance, but to ensure the judgment is implemented effectively.
• Home Affairs, meanwhile, plans to introduce an online asylum intention-registration and appointment system by 10 November.

Government is heading back to court to ask for oversight and guidance when it comes to implementing the Constitutional Court’s controversial July ruling on asylum seekers, together with a possible suspension of the judgment to allow it to get its house in order.

Justice and Constitutional Development Minister Mmamoloko Kubayi made the announcement during a briefing on Sunday.

Speaking on behalf of the Inter-Ministerial Committee (IMC), she said government had received legal advice to the effect that it could seek a supervisory order allowing the court to “retain oversight of the implementation process and provide guidance on how the order should be operationalised”.

“Such an order may also include a suspension period to allow the Department of Home Affairs the necessary time to develop and strengthen administrative, human resource, infrastructure, and processing capacity required to implement the judgment effectively and sustainably”.

The move comes against the backdrop of widespread anti-foreigner violence, particularly in KwaZulu-Natal and in Soweto, Gauteng this past week.

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The violence follows a now-withdrawn directive the department issued in an effort to give effect to the ruling, which essentially struck down legislation which made it difficult for anyone who had entered the country illegally or who had an irregular immigration status to apply for asylum-seeker status.

After the directive was issued, the department’s offices were flooded with applicants.

“The objective is not to delay compliance, but to ensure effective and sustainable compliance that serves both the administration of justice and the broader public interest,” Kubayi said on Sunday.

“We are in a situation where the IMC must find a balance between compliance with the court order and listening to the concerns of many South Africans,” she said.

“We believe we will be able to find that balance, though we need time and patience that we will request formally from the court and that we are requesting today, from our citizens.”

New registration system

In the interim, Kubayi stressed that government remained legally bound to comply with the existing court order and on Sunday also announced that the department was preparing to introduce a “phased structure intention-registration and appointment model”, which was set to be up and running by 10 November.

The system will allow prospective asylum seekers to register their intention to apply through an online platform and receive a receipt recording their personal particulars, biometric information, reference number, and appointment at a Refugee Reception Office.

Assisted registration will, meanwhile, be available at reception offices and, on request, for people in police or immigration detention, with assistance from officials, legal representatives and civil society partners.

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The receipt will not constitute a visa or recognition of refugee status. Instead, it will serve as proof that a person has declared an intention to seek asylum and holders of valid receipts are not to be removed or returned to a country where they face persecution or serious harm, or be arrested or detained.

When it came to people whose applications had already been finally rejected, though, Kubayi stressed that they could not simply reactivate protection by declaring a new intention to apply.

She emphasised that the process would not halt deportations.

She said:

Protection applies only to people who have asked to make a first application for asylum. Those who are in the country illegally and have not, and those whose claims have been finally rejected, after any review or appeal, will continue to be deported as the law requires.

Home Affairs is, meanwhile, also busy drafting legislation in line with the Revised White Paper on Citizenship, Immigration and Refugee Protection, which Cabinet has approved, and Kubayi said it was expected to be processed through Parliament in the next financial year, with the minister having been requested to fast-track the process.

Government is also advancing plans to relocate refugee reception facilities to ports of entry, starting with Beitbridge by December. Kubayi said suggestions that government establish refugee camps for people whose applications were still being processed would be considered, taking legal and financial implications into account.

30 arrested amid unrest

Kubayi on Sunday also confirmed that 30 people had been arrested since Thursday, with 25 arrests in KwaZulu-Natal and five in Gauteng.

The charges related to public violence, illegal gathering, obstruction and resisting arrest. Among those arrested are individuals identified by authorities as alleged ringleaders who reportedly threatened to disrupt planned football matches in Durban on Sunday.

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“We reiterate that law enforcement will not allow threats, intimidation or unlawful conduct to undermine public safety, disrupt sporting events or destabilise communities,” Kubayi said, describing the recent deployment of the South African National Defence Force (SANDF) in KwaZulu-Natal as part of broader stabilisation operations.

She also said government was concerned about inflammatory and misleading social media content that could provoke hostility or incite violence against foreign nationals, public officials or state institutions and that law enforcement agencies were monitoring online and offline activity and would act against individuals or groups found to be encouraging, organising or committing criminal acts.

Call for restraint

The IMC has also met representatives from several civil society and community organisations, including Operation Dudula, March and March, the United Civic Movement, the South African Council of Churches, South Africa First and the Alexander Fiela Movement.

Kubayi said during meetings between the IMC and groups and organisations, including Operation Dudula, March and March, the United Civic Movement, the South African Council of Churches, South Africa First and the Alexander Fiela Movement, that the representatives had raised frustrations, conveyed concerns from their communities and tabled proposals on how government should respond.

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She said government welcomed further engagement, but urged the public to exercise restraint while legal proceedings continued.

“Matters relating to asylum, migration, and border management must be addressed through lawful processes and not through misinformation, intimidation, incitement, or acts of violence,” she said.

Government has pledged to keep the public informed as the legal process unfolds, urging South Africans to rely on official information and avoid spreading claims that could fuel division.