Programme News
16 July 2009
(Press release)
The South Gauteng High Court today ruled that the deportation of an asylum seeker by the Department of Home Affairs was unlawful, unconstitutional, and invalid, and ordered the Department to pay for and facilitate his return to South Africa. The asylum seeker, whose name has been withheld for security reasons, was unlawfully deported on 10 May, 2009—two days before he was to appear in court to...
13 July 2009
(News)
South African non-governmental organisations are on a collision course with government after the decision of the African Union not to co-operate with the International Criminal Court over the arrest of Sudanese president Omar al-Bashir.The organisations - including the Centre for Applied Legal Studies, the International Centre for Transitional Justice, the Khulumani Support Group and Lawyers for...
10 July 2009
(Press release)
The residents of the Mamelodi Hostels will be marching on the Union Buildings in Pretoria on Saturday, 11 July 2009.
The hostels, which accommodate roughly 10 000 people were built by the apartheid government to provide housing to the mostly male migrant workers. The residents living in these hostels have done so for many years and form a distinct community with strong social ties.
In terms...
6 July 2009
(Press release)
Lawyers for Human Rights (LHR), the Legal Resources Centre (LRC) and the AIDS Law Project (ALP) today welcomed a decision by the State Prosecutor at the Johannesburg Magistrates Court to withdraw charges of loitering against over 350 homeless people who were arrested on Friday night in the vicinity of the Central Methodist Church.The majority of those who were arrested are Zimbabwean refugees,...
5 July 2009
(Press release)
We welcome the invitation by Community Safety MEC, Khabisi Mosunkutu, to discuss our concerns regarding the arrest of hundreds of destitute people for sleeping outside the Central Methodist Church and in the streets of Johannesburg shortly before midnight on Friday. We will be seeking a meeting with the MEC and other relevant officials in the coming days.At present, almost all of those arrested...
5 July 2009
(News)
South African human rights organisations on Saturday condemned the arrest of about 300 destitute Zimbabwean nationals. "We have been informed by the SAPS (South African Police Service) that the purpose of the raid was to clear the streets and enforce municipal bylaws," the Lawyers for Human Rights and Legal Resources Centre said in a joint statement. "Large numbers of SAPS and...
11 June 2009
(Press release)
Lawyers for Human Rights (LHR) will ask the South Gauteng High Court today (Friday) for the return of a Congolese asylum seeker who was unlawfully deported by the Department of Home Affairs from South Africa last month. LHR had previously brought an urgent application on his behalf to the court for his release from the Lindela Detention Facility only to be informed at court that he had been...
11 June 2009
(News)
THE decision by the Department of Rural Development and Land Reform to try to evict emerging farmer Veronica Moos again is probably a blessing in disguise.Moos herself, of course, is devastated. After winning a court order to be restored to her farm, she set about securing production credit with the backing of the Gauteng branch of farmers' union AgriSA, and is being assigned a mentor to provide...
1 June 2009
(News)
Xingwana has denied impropriety, insisting she played no role in eviction and land-allocation decisions by her officials while she was minister of land and agriculture. Xingwana launched the group, Women in Agriculture and Rural Development (Ward), soon after taking over the portfolio in 2006.
She has been a vocal champion of Ward ever since, frequently sharing the same podium with its...
27 May 2009
(News)
The North Gauteng High Court in Pretoria yesterday ordered the government to restore land to a black farmer evicted last month under its controversial "use it or lose it" policy. The North Gauteng High Court in Pretoria yesterday ordered the government to restore land to a black farmer evicted last month under its controversial "use it or lose it" policy. The case was brought...