South Africa's Home Affairs Minister, Leon Schreiber, has defended the withdrawal of a directive intended to implement a Constitutional Court judgment on asylum applications. The decision was made after refugee reception offices were overwhelmed, and serious public safety concerns emerged. The directive was withdrawn on Friday, following violent anti-immigrant protests in Soweto and Durban on Thursday.
The Constitutional Court judgment, delivered on July 7, requires asylum seekers to have their applications considered even if they entered South Africa unlawfully or failed to meet certain administrative requirements. However, the government changed its position after refugee reception offices were overwhelmed within days, and officials were placed at risk. The department said it would develop a new approach to implementing the judgment but has not explained what interim arrangements will apply at refugee reception offices or when replacement instructions will be issued.
The withdrawal of the directive follows an emergency meeting of the inter-ministerial committee on migration on Wednesday night. The committee reaffirmed the government's obligation to comply with the Constitutional Court judgment but acknowledged that the country's five refugee reception offices had been overwhelmed by applicants. The committee announced plans to strengthen asylum processing capacity, improve biometric screening, accelerate decisions on applications, and investigate fraud within the system.
The controversy escalated into violence on Thursday when protesters opposing the processing of asylum applications targeted vehicles and foreign-owned businesses in Soweto and Durban. Acting national police commissioner Lieutenant General Puleng Dimpane said 10 vehicles were torched in Soweto and 14 in Durban. In Orlando West, Soweto, protesters gathered near a Home Affairs office before moving towards foreign-owned businesses.
The Scalabrini Centre of Cape Town and Lawyers for Human Rights were involved in the litigation that led to the Constitutional Court judgment. The ruling addressed provisions of the Refugees Act that prevented asylum seekers from accessing the application process because they entered the country irregularly, failed to obtain an asylum transit visa, or missed prescribed reporting deadlines. The judgment requires officials to consider individual claims rather than automatically excluding applicants on procedural grounds.
Minister in the Presidency Khumbudzo Ntshavheni said on Thursday that the government was reviewing the Home Affairs directives to address confusion and overcrowding. The review was underway at a political level before Friday's withdrawal, although the department has not disclosed whether Schreiber or the inter-ministerial committee requested or approved the decision. The reversal leaves unresolved how Home Affairs intends to reconcile its operational difficulties with its constitutional obligations.
The withdrawal of the directive has sparked uncertainty over how asylum seekers previously excluded from the system will be able to lodge applications while the government develops a new approach. Home Affairs maintains that it respects the judiciary and remains committed to complying with the court order. However, with the directive withdrawn and no replacement announced, the situation remains uncertain.
Key points
- The South African government has withdrawn a directive intended to implement a Constitutional Court judgment on asylum applications due to overwhelmed refugee reception offices and public safety concerns.
- The Constitutional Court judgment requires asylum seekers to have their applications considered even if they entered South Africa unlawfully or failed to meet certain administrative requirements.
- The government has announced plans to strengthen asylum processing capacity, improve biometric screening, and accelerate decisions on applications.
