Africa-Press – South-Africa. The Department of Home Affairs is yet to hear if the order allowing 22 Afghan nationals into South Africa will stand.
This after the department, on Saturday, opposed an order by the Gauteng High Court in Pretoria to grant them asylum.
Home Affairs spokesperson Siya Qoza said judgment was reserved, and the outcome was expected this week.
On Friday, the court ordered that the Afghan nationals be granted asylum after they were denied entry into the country on Thursday.
This after an American NGO, The Lifeline Foundation, dragged the department to court.
Qoza said the department was not in court on Friday; however, the judge presiding over the case allowed 24 hours for it to respond.
Home Affairs Minister Aaron Motsoaledi said the department was challenging the court order because the asylum seekers could pose a risk to the country.
He added if they had left Afghanistan due to the Taliban, there could be a chance the fundamentalist group could come into the country to find them.
Speaking on eNCA, Motsoaledi said the arrest or death warrant for the Afghans showed “they are in trouble”.
“It wasn’t translated [document in Arabic], and we don’t even know the authenticity of [the message by the Taliban] that these people are in danger… [The lawyers] told the judge that these people were in Pakistan, and the Taliban went to Pakistan to attack them.
“That’s why they had to leave … now does it mean that they are saying, let them come to South Africa; when the Taliban attacks, it must attack South Africa?
“What am I going to say to South Africans – that I allowed people here that I allowed people here that we don’t even know … maybe there could be suicide bombers, etc – I can’t take such a chance.”
Motsoaledi said he believed South Africa was being undermined and there was a belief people could come into the country and do whatever they wanted.
Meanwhile, the Department of International Relations and Co-operation’s Clayson Monyela tweeted the Afghans arrived at Beitbridge with tourist visas issued by Zambia but asked to enter South Africa as asylum seekers.
“These 22 Afghans were in Zimbabwe for a month as tourists. They tried entering South Africa [as] asylum seekers. We refused, and they went to Zambia, which also granted them tourist visas.”
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