Home Affairs to comply with ConCourt's order

The Department of Home Affairs said it will comply with the Constitutional Court's order to re-open the refugee centre in Port Elizabeth.
The Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University Refugee Rights Centre challenged the closure of centre in the High Court in February 2012 and won the case in 2013.

The department appealed to the Supreme Court of Appeal which ruled against it.

The closure of the centre has negatively affected asylum-seekers in the metro.

The department's spokesperson, Mayihlome Tshwete said: “We are looking at a number of interventions on policy level and even on operational levels to make sure we are able to give genuine asylum seekers the service they deserve when they arrive in the country."

Director of the centre, Lonton Harmse said: ”We are currently in consultation with our senior council and our legal partners, Lawyers for Human Rights, where we will draft correspondence requesting that Home Affairs comply with the court order, which means that they should fully comply with the order of the Supreme Court of Appeal  in the next three months.