Zimbabwe Exemption Permit (ZEP) holders are breathing a sigh of relief after the North Gauteng High Court on Wednesday interdicted Minister of Home Affairs Aaron Motsoaledi from deporting them once their permits expired.
The Zimbabwe Immigration Federation, the Helen Suzman Foundation and the Consortium for Refugees and Migrants in South Africa took the Department of Home Affairs to court and challenged the lawfulness of terminating the ZEP.
“Pending the judgment of this Court in the main application under Part B, the respondents are: Interdicted and restrained from arresting, issuing an order for deportation or detaining any holder of the Zimbabwe Exemption Permit (“ZEP”) for the purposes of deportation in terms of section 34 of the Immigration Act 13 of 2002 for any reason related to him or her not having any valid exemption certificate in his or her passport,” said the Judgement.
The Zimbabwean Immigration Federation chairperson, Luke Mufaro Dzviti said the ZEP holders are relieved that they don’t have to leave South Africa.
“We are so excited and we welcome the high court judgment where ZEP has won part A against the Department of Home Affairs. We welcome the decision because there is no need to expel people from South Africa who are legalized ZEP holders and who have made their lives here without giving them fair representation.
“So we are quite happy that justice is still prevailing in South Africa and we have got just that today. ZEP holders only constitute less than 1% of the population of South Africa. South Africans must realize that not all Zimbabwean are ZEP holders. Here we are talking about 100 000 people in a country of 56 million who are legalized and not who are illegal immigrants,” he added.
The Minister has since extended the ZEP deadline to December.
