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Thupeyo Muleya Beitbridge Bureau

THERE is relief for Zimbabweans living in South Africa as the Pretoria High Court yesterday dismissed as unconstitutional the decision by the neighbouring country’s government not to extend the lifespan of the Zimbabwe Exemption Permits (ZEP).

There are close to 170 000 Zimbabweans living and working in South Africa under the ZEP permits.

In 2021, South Africa’s cabinet resolved not to extend further the permits.

It announced that permit holders should migrate to mainstream permits and that those who fail to do so should depart by June 30 this year.

However, the Home Affairs ministry extended the grace period to December 31 this year. Following the announcement, several groups including the Hellen Suzman Foundation and the Consortium for Refugees and Migrants in South Africa and the Zimbabwe Immigration Federation took the South African government to court.

Another Zimbabwean lawyer, Advocate Simba Chitando also made a similar application. All of them, argued that the resolution by the SA cabinet would negatively affect migrants who had been in South Africa for over a decade.

In addition, they wanted the decision by Home Affairs Minister, Dr Aaron Motsoaledi and his subordinates to be set aside and allow the ZEP holders more time to fix their documents.

Pretoria High Court Judges, Collen Collis, Gcina Malindi and Anathi Motha yesterday ruled that the Home Affairs’ decision was unlawful and invalid.

However, a decision is yet to be made regarding Adv Chitando’s application.

“The first respondent’s decision to terminate the Zimbabwe Exemption Permits (ZEP) to grant the ZEP holders limited extension of the ZEP of only 12 months and to refuse further extension beyond 30 June 2023 as communicated in directive 1 of 2021, as published as GN 1666 in Government Gazette 4527 of 7 January and 2 September 2022 and the accompanying press statement is declared unconstitutional, unlawful and invalid,” read part of the ruling.

“The first respondent referred to in paragraph 147 is reviewed and set aside”.

The judges directed the Home Affairs Minister to reconsider his decision following a fair process that complies with the law. In addition, the court directed that the existing ZEPs shall be deemed valid for the next 12 months.

Further to that, the ZEP holders will continue to enjoy the protections afforded by Immigration directive 1 of 2021.

These include that they cannot be detained, arrested or deported due to the state of their immigration status.

“No holder of the exemption should be required to produce a valid exemption certificate or authorisation letter to be in South Africa,” reads the ruling.

“First respondent and any other parties opposing the application, are directed to pay the costs, jointly, severally, the one paying the other to be absolved.”

Zimbabwe Community SA spokesperson, Mr Bongani Mkwananzi welcomed the ruling. He said the decision was a relief to many ZEP holders.

“We welcome the ruling. It is very positive. We are still studying it to get all the implications with regards to those who had started complying with directive 1 of 2021,” he said. 

An academic based in South Africa, Dr Clement Chipenda said the High Court ruling was a relief to many Zimbabweans who were anxious about their fate after June 30. He said the ruling gives enough time to migrants to put their documents in order with less pressure.

Dr Chipenda said those with children in school were also relieved because it would have been difficult to move them in the middle of an academic year.

A Zimbabwean social worker, Miss Nobuhle Ajiti said: “This is a welcome development considering that some ZEP holders had been experiencing challenges accessing medical attention. This was affecting mainly those in migrant dominant communities”.

She said some were even having challenges with schools and banks constantly reviewing their documents.

 Miss Ajiti said domestic workers were the worst affected because they were being turned away from some gated communities due to the state of their permits.

A teacher, Memory Sibanda said she had been under pressure to move her property in the short period that had been given

“This is a huge relief for us as some people had started selling their properties at give away prices as they prepared to return home. In some instances, bank accounts were being closed due to the previous state of affairs,” she said.

According to the Department of Immigration, since the beginning of June, they have been processing at least 200 ZEP holders returning home daily.

The Zimbabwean Government has activated its various agencies to facilitate the seamless return of its citizens including waiving import duty payments on all the immigrants’ properties.