Home Affairs Minister Aaron Motsoaledi Says Police Are Allowed to Spot-Check Foreign Nationals

• Home Affairs Minister Aaron Motsoaledi gave the green light for police officers to spot-check foreign nationals
• The minister said random checks will be conducted to determine if foreign nationals are in the country legally
• Motsoaledi said people would not be forced to carry around physical documents like during the apartheid era

PRETORIA - Home Affairs Minister Aaron Motsoaledi said members of the South African Police Service (SAPS) can spot-check foreign nationals to determine if they are legally in the country.

He was briefing the home affairs portfolio committee when he made the remarks.

Motsoaledi said police now have the right to stop and ask foreign nationals about documentation. However, he said people would not be forced to carry around physical documents like during the apartheid era.

Read also

Public Enterprises Minister Pravin Gordhan says loadshedding will ease in coming days, Mzansi unimpressed

According to TimesLIVE, the documents will be checked against the national population register. Motsoaledi said the checks can be done on the spot.

The minister said it would be a pity for an individual to be arrested to do a manual check. He was responding to the backlog in permit appeals for asylum seekers and refugees.

Motsoaledi said four refugee centres had been reopened after being closed since 2020. According to SABC News, the centres are in Durban, Pretoria, Gqeberha and Musina.

Social media users react to the announcement:

@mkhululi_simon said:

“Spot checks are effective, but it will be interesting to see how this one will be done within the confines of the law and also how the cops will exercise their discretion that I’ll let this person go and stop this one because I suspect he’s an illegal foreigner then it turns out he’s SAn.”

Read also

SA bust over hot police officers claiming to be SAP: They can see their feet past their stomach, not SAPS

@naeemkarim789 wrote:

“Now the police focus won’t be on crime, but to harass foreigners for small bribes. As it is the police force is clearly way too small.”

@leona_kleynhans added:

“So what kind of profiling is this? How do you recognise a foreigner walking down the street?”

Thabo Mbeki speaks on foreign nationals receiving social grants in South Africa, says Mzansi is not xenophobic

In a related matter, Briefly News also reported former President Thabo Mbeki was at Unisa on Wednesday, 21 September, to engage with students and diplomats about the current state of South Africa and the African continent.

Mbeki weighed in on the conversations happening in South Africa regarding foreign nationals and stated that many Africans contributed to the fight against apartheid and have a legitimate claim to come to SA.

The former president used Nigeria as an example and explained that the Nigerian government rallied citizens to crowdfund for the African National Congress(ANC), reports TimesLIVE.

Source: Briefly News