Programme News
30 September 2014
(News)
There is no law to prevent refugees and asylum seekers from getting licences to operate spaza shops in SA, the Supreme Court of Appeal said on Friday.
The proliferation of immigrant-run spaza shops in townships across the country has led to tension with local traders, some of whom have argued that only South African citizens should be entitled to licences. While they appeared to have support from...
30 September 2014
(News)
More than 30 pressure groups want the Seriti Commission inquiring into the 1999 arms deal to be scrapped.
Instead the organisations want those accused of corruption to be investigated and prosecuted.
Right2Know spokesman Murray Hunter said: "The arms deal represents up to R70-billion that should have been spent on housing, education, health and South Africa's other pressing social needs...
29 September 2014
(News)
Former ANC parliamentarian turned arms activist Andrew Feinstein understands now why President Jacob Zuma kept encouraging him to investigate the arms deal during his time on Standing Committee on Public Accounts (Scopa) in 2000.
It was the oddest part of the situation for Feinstein, an idealistic MP at the time, who was put in a tough spot with the allegations. While senior ANC figures begged or...
29 September 2014
(Press release)
More than 30 local social justice organisations have issued the following joint call for real Arms Deal accountability:
The 1999 Arms Deal represents up to R70 billion that should have been spent on housing, education, health and South Africa’s other pressing social needs. The Arms Deal corrupted our politics, weakened state institutions, and undermined our democracy. And despite mounting...
23 September 2014
(News)
Home Affairs Minister Malusi Gigaba must ensure his staff knows the law applying to immigrants and deportations, the North Gauteng High Court in Pretoria ruled on Tuesday.
Judge Eberhard Bertelsmann referred Gigaba to a previous Constitutional Court ruling involving the deportations of two Botswana nationals.
The court had found it was unlawful for the department to deport or surrender a...
19 September 2014
(Press release)
Judgment in the matter of Samotse and another v Minister of Home Affairs and others was reserved today in the North Gauteng High Court. The Court said that judgment will be handed down on Tuesday 23 September 2014 at 10am.
Legal Aid South Africa and Lawyers for Human Rights are seeking an order declaring the deportation of Edwin Samotse to face the death penalty in...
18 September 2014
(Press release)
The matter of Samotse v Minister of Home Affairs and others, challenging the deportation of a Botswana national to face charges where the Government of Botswana refused to give assurances that the death penalty would not be imposed, has been stood down until Thursday 18 September 2014 at 10am on the urgent roll of the North Gauteng High Court.
Mr Samotse was deported from South Africa on 13...
16 September 2014
(News)
Arms deal critics Hennie Van Vuuren, Andrew Feinstein and Paul Holden, who withdrew in protest from appearing as witnesses are being subpoenaed to appear before the Arms Procurement Commission.
The three activists announced they were withdrawing their participation in August, as they said the commission was failing to fully investigate the arms deal “without fear and favour.”
A...
11 September 2014
(News)
Our Home Affairs department has recently been in the news for its valiant attempts to keep people out of South Africa. Now, it’s suddenly in the news for throwing them out illegally. That may not matter to many South Africans: if someone gets deported home, good riddance, they may say. But in the case of Edwin Samotse, it’s literally a matter of life and death. He was...
10 September 2014
(News)
Botswana citizen Edwin Samotse - now possibly languishing in jail in that country - is the subject of frantic cross-border diplomatic efforts to save him from execution if he is convicted of murder.
The Botswana government sought Samotse's extradition after learning he had slipped into South Africa. South Africa refused to repatriate him when Botswana would not give assurances that he...