Helen Zille Says Illegal Immigrants Must Be Arrested and Deported
- The Democratic Alliance's Johannesburg mayoral candidate, Helen Zille, surprised South Africans when she vocalised her stance on illegal immigration
- She said in a recent interview that illegal immigrants must be subjected to the full might of the criminal justice system
- The comment section was abuzz with netizens accusing her of trying to score election points
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Tebogo Mokwena, Briefly News’ Deputy Head of Current Affairs, contributed coverage of international and local social issues, including health, corruption, education, unemployment, labour, service delivery protests, and immigration in South Africa, during his seven years at Daily Sun and Vutivi Business News.
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JOHANNESBURG — The Democratic Alliance (DA) Johannesburg mayoral candidate Helen Zille may have jumped on the "Abahambe" wagon. This was after she said in a recent interview that illegal immigrants must face the full might of the law.
Zille made the comments in her recent interview with TimesLIVE. Zille said that the DA is going to take a hard-line stance on illegal immigration. She added that some illegal immigrants are part of an international syndicate that commit crime. Zille remarked that the DA has a zero-tolerance policy on illegal immigration.
DA’s approach to illegal immigration
The former Western Cape Premier said that if the DA wins Johannesburg in the upcoming Local Government Elections, the government will arrest, prosecute, and deport illegal immigrants. Zille defended the DA's stance against allegations that it was adopting a populist approach as the country heads towards the (LGE) local government elections.
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“There's nothing populist about the rule of law; there's not a country in the world that anybody can go to, irrespective of whether they are there illegally or not. There's nothing populist about saying that if you go to a country, you must be there legally,” she said.
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Netizens roast Zille
South Africans accused her of using illegal immigration as an electioneering point.
P_Max asked:
“Is this her election campaign? Because she was the advocate of illegal foreigners…This is definitely populist now.”
StarLedi remarked:
“She's just electioneering. DA is in charge of Home Affairs, literally, and the minister is only cutting ribbons for work done by his predecessor. No deportations. WC is an example of how DA is a big supporter of illegals. They even employ them as MMCs and municipal managers without citizenship verification. Brothels of illegal Chinese were thriving in Tshwane under the DA.”
Thabo-Ab-M said:
“She once said foreigners are harder workers than locals. I told she proves otherwise, I won't take this new deportation stance seriously, it feels more like campaigning than anything else.”
I'mSouthAfrican was not amused.
“She will say anything to get votes. Please don't fall for this trap.”
Advalivatyi observed:
“She is actually populist and weaponizes it, mocking the emotions of the well-meaning law-abiding citizens. Helen Zille is in a coalition government, and her minister is complicit in violating immigration obligations in native ancestral land.”
Logicaldebate said:
“Illegal foreigners in South Africa compete with South Africans for jobs, housing, education & other benefits! Why is the party that led the freedom struggle to ensure a better life for their people now ignoring the hordes of illegal foreigners who are stealing their future!”
Helen Zille pledges to tackle corruption and create jobs
In another article, Briefly News reported that Zille promised that she would tackle corruption in Johannesburg if elected as the Mayor during the local government elections. Zille was announced as the party's mayoral candidate for the metro.
Zille allocated five key points as part of her mayoral campaign. These include reliable water supply, road repairs, job creation, anti-corruption measures, and establishing a modern government.
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Source: Briefly News
