Human rights lawyer, Azaria Dube Nduna, said the situation worsened when South Africa lifted the moratorium on deportation of Zimbabweans at the close of the Zimbabwe Documentation Project earlier this year. Steysin Khumalo said he was forced to pay for services at the DHA offices. “Immigration officers forced me to pay R1 000 for my asylum renewal, but they did not do that and when I returned, they demanded another R1 000 but have still not assisted me,” he said.
Farai Macheka, a construction worker, said the fear of arrest made it difficult for him to travel to work.
“What worries me so much is that my asylum permit expires on the first of July and I don’t know what the future holds for me,” he said.
Last year, DHA closed the door to new refugees in Cape Town.
The newcomers have to travel to Musina border post, near Beitbridge, which is almost 2,000km away.
Last week in Pretoria’s Marabastad reception centre, some Zimbabweans were arrested while trying to renew their asylum permits and taken into detention, pending deportation.
The same happened in Benoni, East Rand. Many foreigners were arrested with or without valid asylum permits and those with queries were told their papers would be verified at police stations.
Post published in: Africa News