Latest news with #HomeAffairsDepartment
eNCA
16-05-2025
- Politics
- eNCA
Some sections of Refugee Act declared unconstitutional
JOHANNESBURG - The Western Cape High Court has ruled that certain provisions of the Refugees Act are unconstitutional and invalid. This decision comes after the Scalibrini Centre obtained an interdict preventing the Home Affairs Department from deporting foreign nationals intending to apply for asylum. The organisation argues their deportation without taking their asylum applications into account is unconstitutional.
Eyewitness News
14-05-2025
- Eyewitness News
Chidimma Adetshina's mother to make court appearance
CAPE TOWN - The mother of former Miss South Africa finalist Chidimma Adetshina will be back in court on Wednesday. Anabela Rungo is set to appear in the Cape Town Magistrates Court on identity theft charges. The matter was postponed last week after a new prosecutor was appointed to the case. Rungo had also appointed a new lawyer to represent her. ALSO READ: Chidimma Adetshina's mother appears in court, wants bail conditions relaxed Independent immigration lawyer Stefanie De Saude Darbandi said that while the courts deal with her fraud matter, Home Affairs is responsible for addressing her immigration status. "So Home Affairs case against Mrs. Rungo is that she stole someone's identity and that she acquired her citizenship status and citizen documents, passport and ID through fraudulent means." She adds that according to the Home Affairs Department, Rungo is considered a prohibited person. "The importance of that is that, from an immigration perspective, to be a prohibited person, which Home Affairs is alleging that she is, the law says you must be found in possession of fraudulent documents; it lists what documents. She wasn't found; she agreed to this investigation."
Eyewitness News
12-05-2025
- Politics
- Eyewitness News
Police foil clashes between Omotoso supporters and political party members
EAST LONDON - Police have foiled violent clashes between Nigerian Pastor, Timothy Omotoso's supporters and members of some political parties outside the East London Magistrates Court. The televangelist faces deportation after his arrest on Saturday for allegedly flouting immigration laws. His arrest follows the Home Affairs Minister's rejection of an application submitted by Omotoso that sought to overturn an earlier decision to declare Omotoso a prohibited person. Police said he contravened the Immigration Act after failing to overturn a bid by the Home Affairs Department, which declares him a prohibited person. His arrest comes a month after he was acquitted of rape and sexual offence related charges. Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) and African National Congress (ANC) supporters, joined community members outside court where Omotoso is expected to appear. Earlier on Monday, scuffles broke out between the supporters of Omotoso's church members, accusing the government of harassing their leader. Community members said that whatever happens in court on Monday, they want Omotoso to be deported back to his country. EFF central command team member Inam Kula said, 'We are here to demonstrate to and say to the judiciary and home affairs that we do not want Omotoso here in South Africa and that he has not place in South Africa.' The accused pastor was recently cleared on a number of rape and sexual offence charges. READ: NPA's Batohi orders full report on Omotoso acquittal
Eyewitness News
07-05-2025
- Politics
- Eyewitness News
Home Affairs tasked with ensuring SAns who lost citizenship due to Citizenship Act
JOHANNESBURG – The Home Affairs Department is now tasked with ensuring the reinstatement of South Africans who lost their citizenship due to the implementation of the Citizenship Act. The Constitutional Court last Thursday confirmed an order of constitutional invalidity declared by the Supreme Court of Appeal, giving effect to the declaration. The provision stipulates that major South Africans who voluntarily acquire the citizenship of another country, outside of marriage, cease to be South Africans in accordance with the act. The apex court ordered that all South Africans who lost their citizenship as a result of this provision are deemed not to have lost it. The order of the constitutional court has a retrospective effect, meaning that it is intended to have a backdated consequence, affecting events that preceded it. In this matter, all citizens who previously lost their citizenship will be deemed not to have lost it. The constitutional court found that there was no rational reason why a South African would automatically lose their citizenship by acquiring the citizenship of another country. Although Section 6 subsection 2 allows persons who may lose their citizenship as a result of the operation of the act to apply to the Minister of Home Affairs to retain their South African status, the court finds that this does not save the provision from unconstitutionality. Justice Steven Majiedt, 'The existence of a ministerial power to exercise discretion in terms of Section 6(2) to alter what is otherwise an automatic loss of citizenship is no answer to the question of why citizenship must be lost in the first place. 'The court further notes that section 6(2) of the act provides no criteria at all on how the minister's discretion is to be exercised and what it's bounds are. The legislature argues that dual citizenship is permissible, subject only to ministerial discretion. This reasoning is unclear and utterly irrational.' The apex court also finds that the provision gives the minister broad, unchecked power, which cannot be defended given the violation of fundamental rights.
Yahoo
24-02-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Labor hit with bombshell vote claim
Home Affairs Minister Tony Burke is facing a serious allegation that he breached ministerial conduct by excluding an independent MP from a major citizenship ceremony in Sydney, while inviting the crossbencher's Labor challenger. More than 4,500 people became citizens during the three-day event in Olympic Park over the weekend, including now-voters in the division of Fowler. The federal seat's holder Dai Le has said she was not invited. Meanwhile, Labor's candidate Tu Le did attend and reaped the benefits of photo-ops with new Australians. It came against a backdrop of claims that Labor has been rushing through citizenship ceremonies to stack electorates in its favour, allegations Labor has denied. Opposition home affairs spokesman James Paterson said on Monday it was 'extraordinary behaviour … in the dying days of a desperate government to schedule these unscheduled, unprecedented, extraordinary Home Affairs Department citizenship ceremonies to ram through 12,000 citizenships in the days before the election is called'. Mr Burke told Sky News last week the mass ceremonies had been held to help clear a 'huge backlog', and brushed off any suggestion there was a political advantage for Labor in the events. 'I don't know if you've got some secret insight as to which way people are going to vote. I don't,' he said. 'What we had was a huge backlog … of people who were entitled to have these citizenship ceremonies and different councils weren't having enough ceremonies. 'I just say to the people who are complaining, have a bit of patriotism about this. People standing up and saying, I want to make a lifelong Pledge of Commitment to Australia is a good thing.' Home Affairs' handling of the citizenship ceremonies was set to be probed during Senate estimates on Monday. Senator Paterson told Sky News Mr Burke 'really needs to answer some questions about this today and I'll be putting questions to the Department of Home Affairs about this today'. Asked if he thought excluding Dai Le was a ministerial breach, the man vying for Mr Burke's job said: 'Yes, I think it clearly does and I'll have more questions for the Home Affairs Department about this today and other invitations that they might have made or not made to other politicians.' 'These ceremonies are happening all around the country at the moment and it looks like they are playing political favourites here, but that will be a very serious issue for the Department of Home Affairs, for the secretary, Stephanie Foster,' Senator Paterson said. 'And I want to understand what, if anything, the department did to satisfy itself that this wasn't being abused for partisan political purposes as it very clearly appears that it was.'
