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IOL News
17 hours ago
- Politics
- IOL News
‘Shielded from arrest': What Supreme Court of Appeal ruling means for 180,000 Zimbabweans in South Africa
Scores of Zimbabweans during a picket at the Union Buildings in Pretoria. Image: Jonisayi Maromo/IOL The Supreme Court of Appeal has dismissed with costs the Department of Home Affairs' attempt to overturn an interim interdict, previously granted in favour of the Zimbabwe Immigration Federation, protecting nearly 200,000 Zimbabwean Exemption Permit (ZEP) holders against arrest and deportation. After winning Part A of the court wrangle, the federation will be heading back to the court, for Part B, to argue before court that the Department of Home Affairs overreached in 2021, when the then home affairs minister Aaron Motsoaledi announced the termination of the ZEP. The special permit dispensation has allowed 180,000 Zimbabwean nationals to live and work in South Africa since 2009. In the federation's view, the jurisdiction to terminate the ZEP lies with Parliament, not the minister. IOL had an interview with Vindren Magadzire, director of the Zimbabwe Immigration Federation who said his organisation's case revolves around the termination of the ZEP programme by the minister of home affairs. Vindren Magadzire, director of the Zimbabwe Immigration Federation Image: Supplied Get your news on the go, click here to join the IOL News WhatsApp channel. 'The programme allowed approximately 180,000 Zimbabweans to live and work in South Africa. In 2021, the minister of home affairs announced plans to terminate the ZEP permits, sparking legal actions from the Zimbabwe Immigration Federation,' Magadzire told IOL. 'The Zimbabwe Immigration Federation was inspired to go through courts due to the South African minister of home affairs' decision to terminate the permits. The decision would have significant implications for approximately 180,000 Zimbabweans living and working in South Africa under the ZEP permit program.' Magadzire said his organisation is requesting the superior court to declare the termination of the ZEP permits unlawful, setting aside the termination decision, and protecting permit holders rights. In Magadzire's view, a lasting solution would be granting the ZEP holders permanent residence status in South Africa. 'The latest development in the court case is that the Supreme Court of Appeal dismissed the minister of home affairs appeal. This decision upholds a Johannesburg High Court interdict that shields approximately 180,000 ZEP holders from arrest and deportation,' said Magadzire. Last year, IOL reported that the High Court in Pretoria heard arguments from the Helen Suzman Foundation to enforce the court's order that the ZEP remains valid, while the minister of home affairs conducts a fair and rational inquiry into the impact of its termination. The foundation turned to court in a bid to give ZEP holders a lifeline.
TimesLIVE
3 days ago
- Politics
- TimesLIVE
SCA sends home affairs minister packing in ZEP appeal
The Supreme Court of Appeal has rejected an appeal by the minister of home affairs against the Johannesburg high court order on Zimbabwe Exemption Permits (ZEPs), which give about 180,000 Zimbabweans a special dispensation to lawfully remain in South Africa. The judgment also clears the path for the Zimbabwean Immigration Federation to return to court and argue that it is only parliament, and not the home affairs minister, which can decide whether to extend the ZEP regime. In 2023, the Johannesburg high court set aside a decision by former minister Aaron Motsoaledi to terminate the ZEP regime and to reconsider his decision, following a fair process. The SCA's judgment on Friday said that counsel for the minister told the court that 'the order is being implemented, and ... the minister is following a fair process'. But the federation wants to go back to court to argue that ZEP-holders and their children enjoy constitutional rights in South Africa. If these are to be limited, only parliament may do so — 'by enacting a law of general application,' says the SCA's judgment. The SCA did not give a view on whether that argument was correct, but it rejected an appeal by the minister that would have prevented the federation from ever making it. When the high court gave its order, the federation was one of the parties in the litigation, along with the Helen Suzman Foundation (HSF). Theirs were two separate cases, which were heard together. While the federation and the HSF both wanted similar orders, at that time, from the high court, their grounds were different. And while the HSF asked the court for a final order, the federation only sought an interim interdict — it wanted to argue its main case at a later date. The court gave a final order, as sought by the HSF, and also the interim interdict sought by the federation. The minister had already tried, and failed, to appeal against the HSF order. In this case, the minister approached the SCA on appeal, saying the interim interdict was 'redundant' since the court had already granted a final order to the HSF. In Friday's judgment, the SCA disagreed. Judge of Appeal David Unterhalter said the federation's case 'raised distinctive grounds of review', which laid the basis for an argument that was not raised or argued earlier — about the powers of the minister when there were constitutional rights at stake. If the federation's argument was to be accepted, it 'would not permit the minister to terminate the ZEP regime'. 'That is a remedial outcome of a considerably more far-reaching kind because it reaches into the future and is not based on a reconsideration,' said Unterhalter. The redundancy argument could therefore not hold, he said.
The South African
21-05-2025
- Politics
- The South African
5 challenges facing Zimbabwean immigrants in South Africa NOW
Most Zimbabwean immigrants in South Africa continue to face a range of challenges, from immigration uncertainty to poor access to basic services, amid ongoing arrests of undocumented foreign nationals. Therefore, many immigrants remain vulnerable to exploitation and police raids. Here is a look at five challenges that Zimbabweans in South Africa face: The ZEP has expired, extensions keep coming, but there's no clear path forward. Thousands fear getting arrested or deported during random raids. This has become a challenge to Zimbabwean immigrants who are trying to live and work in peace. Not all Zimbabwean immigrants to South Africa are ZEP holders. Some Zimbabweans who live in South Africa do have valid passports without work permits, and others do not have passports at all. With no papers to protect them, many Zimbabwean immigrants take whatever work they can find, often in homes, construction sites, or kitchens. Some reports suggest that most Zimbabweans are underpaid, overworked, and silenced by the constant threat of deportation if they speak up. For Zimbabwean migrants, a visit to a clinic can end in humiliation. 'No papers, no service,' that's the message too many receive. The South African recently reported a case of a Zimbabwean teenager who was denied a kidney transplant in Johannesburg because her parents' work permit had expired. Falling ill or trying to enrol a child in school shouldn't be a gamble, but for Zimbabwean immigrants, it is. Many are turned away from hospitals, and school admissions often require documents they can't provide. Social media has become a powerful amplifier of anti-immigrant sentiment in South Africa. Despite having many foreign nationals based in South Africa, Zimbabwean immigrants, in particular, are regularly blamed for economic and social problems. Groups such as Operation Dudula have used platforms like Facebook and Twitter to mobilise anger, often inciting real-world hostility. Blamed for everything from crime to job shortages, Zimbabwean immigrants are constantly dragged on South African social media. Zimbabweans have become easy scapegoats in online spaces, with hashtags and posts reinforcing a narrative of exclusion. Many Zimbabweans living in South Africa rely on informal trading. Selling fruit or clothes is the only way to make ends meet, but crackdowns keep hitting them hardest. It's survival, but not without stress. If you are selling on the street, you must be ready for raids, fines, or your stuff getting taken. Let us know by leaving a comment below, or send a WhatsApp to 060 011 021 1. Subscribe to The South African website's newsletters and follow us on WhatsApp, Facebook, X and Bluesky for the latest news.
