Official slated for sneering at judge (Sunday Times)

The deputy director-general of immigration services, Jackie MacKay, has now been found guilty of contempt of court for "blatantly ignoring" an order by acting Judge Roelof du Plessis. This after MacKay refused to release an unlawfully detained woman despite two orders by the judge to do so. The judge handed down his scathing judgment in the High Court in Pretoria on Monday against the Department of Home Affairs. It followed an urgent application to have Chinese national Lin Gui Lan released in November last year after she had been detained for two days by home affairs officials at OR Tambo Airport.

 

The judge not only had to issue two urgent court orders in as many days to secure Lin's release, but was forced to personally phone MacKay. This after several pleas by his registrar - who was "laughed off" by officials - and Lin's lawyers were ignored. And all of this despite the fact that Lin - who visited China to see a new grandchild - should not have been detained in the first place.

 

The officials dismissed one of the court orders as "just a piece of paper". Their attitude led to the judge's phone call - only for him to have the phone slammed down on him. The judge said in his judg ment: "I then spoke to MacKay, who told me that he knew the law better than any judge did and that he was not going to release the applicant. He also summarily terminated the telephone call by putting the phone down."

MacKay was lucky to escape a jail sentence and, instead, got away with a stern warning.

 

The department, however, was hit with a hefty order of costs for the "arrogant" attitude of its officials who man immigration services at the airport. On the afternoon of her arrival in South Africa, before Lin's lawyers had gone to court, officials picked the woman up and tried to carry her onto an aircraft. It was only when a bystander intervened - after seeing her "kicking, screaming and crying hysterically" - that they stopped.

 

In fact, after the issuing of the first court order for Lin's release, officials still planned to deport her. She was eventually placed in police custody at the airport without food, water or warm clothing, and detained for two days. The judge found that the officials had failed on all counts, as Lin had a valid work permit, her documents were in order and there was no other reason to deport her. It was only when a third court application was threatened that Lin was released.

 

This did not, however, prevent the judge from finding that Mac-Kay had "shown a clear and unarguable disdain and disrespect towards the courts" and was therefore guilty of the "wilful" disregard of a court order. The judge said MacKay, whom he also labelled a liar, was guilty of contempt of court. He rejected MacKay's claim that he was just a layman who did not realise he had a court order in front of him.

 

"A person working in his position in the immigration department is not a layperson ... his attempt ... is untrue and rejected," the judge said, adding that MacKay did not even bother to check with the judge whether it was, in fact, a legitimate order. Even though MacKay claimed in court papers that it was never his intention to disobey an order, the judge said his actions clearly indicated otherwise.

 

The only reason MacKay wasn't jailed was because he apologised and eventually complied with the order - albeit "through much force and persuasion". Lin's lawyer, Michael Strauss, said his client was glad the "traumatic experience" was over. However, she was now struggling to renew her work permit, as the department repeatedly lost her applications and was again threatening to deport her.