The Department of Interior Affairs has warned against what it describes as a large-scale disinformation campaign over the Constitutional Court's ruling in the Scalabrini Centre of Cape Town case and the processing of asylum applications.
On Wednesday, Interior Affairs said it is "categorically false" that the decision to suspend the so-called "good cause" interviews was taken on the initiative of the minister, the department or political parties. According to the department, the Constitutional Court's ruling of seven July is binding and an operational directive was issued afterwards to give effect to the ruling. The court declared certain provisions of the refugee act unconstitutional and invalid, including provisions that under certain circumstances had made it possible to deport an asylum seeker without a transit visa.
The Scalabrini Centre, a non-profit organisation that assists migrants, refugees and South Africans, challenged the minister's handling of certain asylum procedures in court. Interior Affairs emphasises that the ruling does not grant asylum seekers citizenship or constitute a general legalisation of foreigners. The department says the matter will be referred to the independent electoral commission for further action in terms of the new code of conduct on combating disinformation.
Interior Affairs is meanwhile appealing to South Africans to verify information before it is shared. Click here to read more.
This article is an automatic English translation of a Nuusflits article originally published in Afrikaans. Read the Afrikaans original.
