By: Staff Reporter
The Patriotic Alliance (PA) has written to the head of the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) to ask for an explanation around how the deportation cases of at least 16 foreign nationals who were arrested for being in South Africa illegally could have been bungled.
Since the individuals concerned – reportedly apprehended in Akasia, Tshwane – were not brought before a judge within 48 hours of their arrest, they had to be released or would have been unlawfully detained.
The PA head of legal, Eugene Botha, asked National Director of Public Prosecutions Shamila Batohi that the PA was “disturbed by the news that your department has failed in its duty to protect our Citizens” by allowing 16 undocumented foreign nationals to be “released within our borders”.
“Your Department’s failure will have a direct consequence on the most vulnerable communities in our Society as these foreigners infiltrate those communities and compete with our Citizens for our national resources.”
He asked Batohi to determine “what steps you will take to ensure that the 16 foreign nationals who entered our country illegally are apprehended by the proper authorities and deported as soon as possible”.
“Secondly, we would like to know what steps you will take to ensure that your Department remedies these failures and provides guarantees to our Citizens that your department will do everything in its power to uphold the policies and laws of this Country. We cannot tolerate even the slightest negligence in this regard and we expect that your Department will take immediate remedial steps to ensure that this never happens again.
“Finally, we request that you address us on the formation of a special task force within your department to ensure the apprehension and legal processing of foreign persons who entered South Africa illegally to ensure the safe and lawful removal of illegally foreign persons from within our borders,” he wrote.
