Helen Suzman Foundation Gets Backlash Over Court Bid to Stop Home Affairs From Deporting ZEP Holders

• The Helen Suzman Foundation has gone to court in Pretoria to prevent Home Affairs from deporting Zimbabwean Exemption Permit (ZEP) holders
• The foundation believes that the arrest or deportation of ZEP holders will cause a humanitarian crisis
• South Africans are unhappy with the foundation's court bid and accused the organisation of not being patriotic

JOHANNESBURG - The Helen Suzman Foundation has approached the High Court in Pretoria to bar the Department of Home Affairs from arresting or deporting Zimbabwean Exemption Permit (ZEP) holders.

The civil society group feels that arresting or deporting ZEP holders would be "a human catastrophe".

Helen Suzman Foundation defends over 170 000 ZEP holders

Earlier this year, the court halted Minister of Home Affairs Aaron Motsoaledi from terminating the permits. According to SowetanLIVE, the permits are now extended until January 2024.

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Motsoaledi has approached the Supreme Court of Appeal to overturn the decision affecting 178 000 ZEP holders.

Nicole Fritz, Director of the Helen Suzman Foundation, argues that the appeal process will leave ZEP holders unprotected. Fritz stated that as it stands, ZEP holders are at risk of being deported or detained from 31 December 2023.

Fritz added that it's better for the courts to deal with the issue before December.

However, there are organisations claiming that the Helen Suzman Foundation launched court action to block the Department of Home Affairs from deporting illegal immigrants.

Helen Suzman foundation responds to backlash

Speaking exclusively to Briefly News, the Helen Suzman Foundation's Yvette Ondinga hit back at the allegations that the organisation is fighting to keep undocumented immigrants in the country.

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Ondinga explained that the foundation's application solely deals with ZEP holders and the other narratives about the court bid from organisations such as Put South Africa First are dangerous.

"The suggestion that the HSF has brought an application to prevent the Minister from deporting illegal immigrants is not only malicious but dangerous," said Ondinga.

She said the lies presented in the public space about NGOs misrepresent the role of NGOs and put democracy at risk.

Home Affairs calls for mass deportation

The Department of Home Affairs plans to deport illegal immigrants in South Africa. The department issued a short statement on social media saying that they would be moving in to arrest and deport undocumented immigrants, reports IOL.

“We don’t make noise when we conduct law enforcement operations. We move in and deport people. We’ll be going to many other communities and deporting those who are here illegally,” the message read.

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In an effort to tackle the surge of illegal immigrants, the Department of Home Affairs intercepted a home where over 100 undocumented immigrants were hauled up.

Helen Suzman Foundation receives backlash over latest court bid

@mbarara1 said:

"I guess the Helen Suzman Foundation acts on behalf of the EFF then "

@lionesz5 said:

"This foundation seriously jeopardises the credibility of Minister Motsoaledi."

@JanDelarey53 said:

"As long as the foundation pays the school fees, medical bills, housing, electricity, water and personal tax, and gives jobs to all the ZEP holders, I don't mind."

@ADS_ZAR said:

"South African law is wild, an NGO stops the government from doing their job and they want the country to allow illegal activity and that's entertained."

Aaron Motsoaledi extends ZEP for another 6 months

Briefly News previously reported that Minister of Home Affairs Dr Aaron Motsoaledi has once again decided to extend the Zimbabwean Exemption Permits (ZEP) for another six months.

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Kunene and Tshwaku’s crusade against hijacked buildings: MMCs vow to take back the city… again

The permits were initially supposed to expire on 20 June 2023 but were given a longer lifeline until the end of December.

Source: Briefly News