Acting Joburg Mayor and deputy president of Patriotic Alliance Kenny Kunene has slammed the South African Human Rights Commission rejecting its argument that illegal immigrants be allowed to access government services citing the constitution.
Kunene was leading a raid at suspected criminal dens in Randburg, North of Johannesburg when the SAHRC issued a statement condemning organisations that had been visiting health facilities demanding that illegal migrants not be assisted adding it reminds South Africans that everyone in South Africa is guaranteed a right to health even if they were in the country unlawfully.
The commission said the constitution guaranteed the right to health services without discrimination.
“Section 27(1) of the Constitution of the Republic of South Africa, 1996, clearly states that: “Everyone has the right to have access to healthcare services, including reproductive healthcare.”
This constitutional provision means that all people in South Africa regardless of nationality, legal status, race, gender, age, income level, or geographic location are entitled to access basic healthcare services, SAHRC said in a statement and listing categories of beneficiaries as;
- South African citizens
- Refugees and asylum seekers
- Documented and undocumented migrants\
- Stateless persons
- Children, including separated, unaccompanied and stateless children.
- Persons in detention
- Vulnerable populations, such as persons with disabilities, the older persons, and persons living in poverty
The commission said there were incorrect perceptions that being in South Africa unlawfully meant not deserving of rights provided by the constitution ( the supreme law of the land).
“The Constitution does not qualify or limit this right based on immigration status or citizenship,” said the commission also cautioning health facilities to not turn back undocumented persons.
“The SAHRC is deeply concerned by reports of healthcare facilities that deny treatment to individuals on the basis of nationality or documentation status. Such practices are not only unethical and unlawful but also inconsistent with South Africa’s obligations under both domestic and international human rights law,” the commission said of health facilities it reports as not treating illegal immigrants.
Both Patriotic Alliance and Operation Dudula have embarked on campaigns to physically prevent illegal migrants from accessing health facilities and the commission said their actions amounted to a human right violation.
“The SAHRC is also concerned that people are taking laws into their own hands and making it difficult for people to access medical care due to their nationality. It is important to note that no civic group or individual has the legal authority to control access to public health facilities or to enforce immigration laws, ” said the commission.
Kunene vowed his party will continue manning the gates as it believed the facilities should serve South Africans and certainly not those who are in the country unlawfully.
“And we are clear as the patriotic alliance, we must put South Africans first.You can’t have hospitals being filled with illegal immigrants and South Africans are queuing outside, even outside of the gate of the hospital. So members of the patriotic alliance that have been going to hospitals to deal with this particular matter are well within the mandate of the PA and implementing the manifesto of the PA,” said Kunene who led a crackdown that resulted in more than 60 undocumented foreign nationals.
“So the Human Rights Commission, unfortunately, we have been told that some of the people who are there are also foreigners.
He accused the commission of serving having been infiltrated by migrants insisting they must leave the country.
“So the Human Rights Commission must cleanse itself of foreigners first before it wants to speak for foreigners. You cannot say when we are dealing with crime and the hijacking of buildings,when we are dealing with the burden on our public service, then you say that we are harassingpeople. Let them go back to their countries.We are here. Let them go back to their countriesand we are steadfast. We are resolute,” Kunene said.