Home Affairs Minister Dr Aaron Motsoaledi has rubbished widely circulated media reports which stated that he has given the police an instruction to conduct spot checks and ascertain immigration status of foreign nationals.
HOME Affairs Minister Dr Aaron Motsoaledi has rubbished widely circulated media reports which stated that he has given the police an instruction to conduct spot checks and ascertain immigration status of foreign nationals.
The minister cited section 41 of South Africa’s Immigration Act which states that: “When so requested by an immigration officer or a police officer, any person shall identify himself or herself as a citizen, permanent resident or foreigner, and if on reasonable grounds such immigration officer or police officer is not satisfied that such person is entitled to be in the Republic, such person may be interviewed by an immigration officer or a police officer about his or her identity or status, and such immigration officer or police officer may take such person into custody without a warrant …”
The act also states that the immigration officer or police officer “shall take reasonable steps, as may be prescribed, to assist the person in verifying his or her identity or status, and thereafter, if necessary, detain him or her in terms of section 34.”
“From this Act it is evident that no law enforcement officer needs any instruction from a minister to pursue their work. The act itself gives such an instruction and this has been happening for the past 20 years since 2002,” said Motsoaledi.
He said law enforcement officers have been applying this act since that period at roadblocks, in factories, agricultural establishments, hospitality industry, trucking industry and anywhere within the borders of South Africa.
The regulations go on to guide law enforcement officers on how to apply the act. Regulation 37 says that:
“An immigration officer or police officer shall take the following steps in order to verify the identity or status of the person contemplated in section 41(1) of the act:
a.access relevant documents that may be readily available in this regard;
b.contact relatives or other persons who could prove such identity and status;
c.access departmental records in this regard; or
d.provide the necessary means for the person to obtain the documents that may confirm his or her identity and status”
“The method of accessing departmental records as contemplated in (c) above was given a boost during the preparations for the World Cup in 2010 when a 24-hour centre was established. Any law enforcement officer who wants to verify the identity of a person on the spot does not necessarily need to have a physical documentation of that person,” said Motsoaledi.
He said if the law enforcement agents are given an ID number, a passport number or any documentation number, “they can phone the 24-hour centre and the identity they are looking for will be verified”.
“It is only after exhausting such steps as described in the regulations that the police officer may find themselves having to arrest a person, if they still cannot ascertain their identity. The 24-hour centre is our proud legacy of the 2010 Soccer World Cup,” said Motsoaledi.
The minister said the widely reported remarks he made were a response to a query by a member of the parliamentary Portfolio Committee on Home Affairs on September 20.
The member complained that a member of the public was put in custody for the whole weekend, waiting for Home Affairs officials to confirm whether he was documented or not.
Motsoaledi said things did not have to be that way because there is a legal mechanism to check on the spot the documentation status of a person.
“Anybody who is not aware that people have been identified in this manner since the Act was promulgated in 2002 cannot put a blame on me. Therefore, the media headlines and statements that suggest that I have given instructions to the police officers to stop people and ask for their identification is sensational and it tries to create a controversy where none exists,” he said.
“The country is suffering load shedding at the moment and that is enough, we cannot afford journalism shedding too.”
