Pastor who fought Home Affairs on refugee marriage ban finally ties the knot

Daily Maverick -  17 December 2020

In masks and accompanied by their attorney, their baby and witnesses, the man and woman who fought and beat Home Affairs over a ban on refugee marriages finally got hitched in Port Elizabeth on Thursday.

An ecstatic, smiling Zizipho, carrying a small bouquet of white flowers and wearing a pretty white dress with yellow flowers, said one happy word when the ceremony was over and she was married to Pastor Emmanuel Ochogwu: “Finally.”

“I am superblessed and excited,” commented the bridegroom. “This has been an amazing day — a really good day.”

In 2016 the Department of Home Affairs banned asylum seekers from getting married in South Africa in what it said was an attempt to root out marriages of convenience. It took Ochogwu’s legal team four years, but on Thursday 17 December his attorney Liesl Fourie was there to witness him and his wife finally get married.

Ochogwu, who works as a pastor at the Dominion Embassy Church in Port Elizabeth, came to South Africa in 2011 after his life became threatened by a growing number of attacks on Christian believers by the rebel group Boko Haram in Nigeria.

“I have seen and am aware of numerous Christians that have been killed by Boko Haram. These Christians were thrown in wells or burned,” he explained. “Boko Haram has also attacked churches, by burning them down or bombing them. My younger brother was killed by Boko Haram during one such attack. At a time when the attacks against Christians and churches were increasing, I came to South Africa as I feared for my life. I arrived in South Africa in 2011.”

He was issued with a temporary residence permit by the Department of Home Affairs. His application for asylum was refused but he appealed against this decision and has been waiting for seven years for a hearing. If his appeal is successful, he will be declared a refugee and be able to live permanently in South Africa.

Ochogwu married his wife, a South African citizen, under customary law in September 2015, but they have been struggling ever since to get officials from the Department of Home Affairs in Port Elizabeth to register the marriage.

First he was asked for proof of the customary union, confirming that he had paid lobola and requiring his father-in-law to provide an affidavit. Then he was sent several times to Pretoria for verification of his refugee permit application. Even after this was done, officials still refused to register his marriage, saying the law had changed and asylum seekers could no longer get married.

“As a pastor in a Christian community, I want to set an example by entering into a civil marriage with my wife as it indicates to all that this will be a monogamous, long-term relationship. We were very upset that we were not allowed to get married civilly,” he said.

In November 2016, Linton Harmse, head of the Refugee Rights Centre at Nelson Mandela University in Port Elizabeth, discovered that a directive had been sent to Department of Home Affairs offices instructing officials not to register civil unions for asylum seekers. Officials claimed they could not give Harmse a copy of this directive and the document only surfaced publicly in 2017.

Ochogwu’s legal team, led by advocate Lilla Crouse SC, went to court to have the directive declared unconstitutional. The Port Elizabeth High Court did so, but the department appealed against the ruling to the Supreme Court of Appeal. In  a scathing judgment, coupled with a punitive court order, the deputy-president of the Supreme Court of Appeal, Judge Xola Petse, last year confirmed that the directive was unconstitutional.

The couple, however, still had to wait for the department to draw up a new directive. Earlier this week the couple was called in for an interview at Home Affairs and on Thursday they were married.

“I feel so relieved,” Ochogwu said. “It gave me security. What we are doing is real. There is a strong love and commitment. There are so many fake marriages out there. We have been together for a long time. Our parents are very excited,” he said.

Ochogwu’s declaration of love to his wife during the ceremony left even the most hardened of civil servants at Home Affairs a little teary-eyed.

He thanked his legal team. “Love is real,” he said. “It is more than just a feeling. It is a commitment.”

“I am so happy,” Zizipho said. “Today at Home Affairs everyone was so eager to help us. This is going to be a wonderful Christmas.”

Fourie, an attorney from the Nelson Mandela University Refugee Rights Centre, accompanied them to make sure all went well.

“We were honoured to witness the solemnisation of Mr and Mrs Ochogwu’s marriage today,” said Fourie.

“The couple didn’t hesitate one second when we asked them to take up the challenge against the Department of Home Affairs decision to refuse asylum seeker marriages. They put a face to the thousands of faceless asylum seekers affected by this patently unconstitutional prohibition.

“Today we not only witnessed a wonderful couple’s marriage, but we also witnessed justice and human rights prevail. We wish Mr and Mrs Ochogwu a long and happy marriage together,” she said.

www.samigration.com

British Airways halts direct flights between Durban and London

News 24 - 21 December 2022

British Airways plans to suspend the direct flight route between Durban and London from March 2021. A total of 13 destinations are expected to be halted in light of the pandemic.

 The Dube Trade Port Special Economic Zone says this will hamper international air services into the region.

KwaZulu-Natal's Dube Trade Port Special Economic Zone on Monday said airline company British Airways' decision to cancel the direct flight route between Durban and London will hamper the growth of international air services into the region post-Covid-19.

"As a route development committee, we understand the reasoning behind British Airways’ decision. The impact of Covid-19 and subsequent travel restrictions globally have resulted in low anticipated demand. It is therefore not unreasonable that an airline like British Airways reduces the routes in its network,” said Dube TradePort Special Economic Zone CEO Hamish Erskine.

According to reports, the airline company is set to suspend direct flights to 13 destinations in light of the decreased demand due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

As of 28 March, 2021, flights between the United Kingdom and the following destinations will halt: Durban, Pittsburg (USA), Charleston (USA), Calgary (Canada), Lima (Peru), Kuala Lumpur (Malaysia), Osaka (Japan), Seoul (Republic of Korea), Dammam (Saudi Arabia), Abu Dhabi (UAE), and Muscat (Oman).

KZN MEC for economic development, Ravi Pillay, said he was confident that the route would be restored post-Covid-19.“Our social and economic links to the UK are enduring. This will translate itself into continued demand for flights between Durban and London for tourism, trade and visits to friends and family," said Pillay.

"British Airways’ decision should be seen in the broader context of an organisation that has worked hard to keep flying despite the pandemic affecting its entire global operations. This organisation has had to make extraordinary sacrifices, letting go of some 12 000 staff and retiring 31 aircraft. Meanwhile, the UK has just emerged from its second lockdown which has meant there simply aren't that many people flying at the moment,” he added.

On Sunday Business Insider reported that multiple countries had announced that they will be closing their borders to the UK over fears of a fast-spreading variant of Covid-19 which is believed to be up to  70% more transmissible than the original strain. In order to stop its spread, Prime Minister Boris Johnson announced that London and surrounding areas would suddenly be plunged into lockdown

Meanwhile, Turkish Airlines has also suspended its two weekly flights to Cape Town, Johannesburg, and Durban for the December-January holiday season in light of the pandemic. Erskine said he was confident the province would survive as other airlines had expanded their routes.

“From a Durban direct route development committees’ perspective, we are confident in the resilience of the KwaZulu-Natal markets and their ability to sustain direct air services between Durban and London. Pre-Covid-19, British Airways experienced very strong load factors which were a testament to the demand for the route, supported by cargo volumes that were almost at capacity.

www.samigration.com

Beitbridge traffic now queues for up to 15km – with a big coronavirus risk from Covid-19 rules

Business Insider SA -  Dec 21, 2020

• A queue of vehicles stretching for 15km in both directions has crippled travel through the troubled Beitbridge border post.
• Curfews and Covid-19 testing protocols are blamed for adding to the delays, which can last more than 24-hours in South Africa and seven days in Zimbabwe.
• With no roadside ablution facilities or running water, the backlog and associated intermingling between drivers has the potential to become a super-spreader event.
• You can get to the front of the queues and even bypass the Covid-19 test if you have money for a bribe, says an appalled transport association.

Stringent Covid-19 regulations – including testing, symptom screenings, and curfews – is being blamed for a traffic jam stretching for kilometres on both sides of the Beitbridge border post between Zimbabwe and South Africa. Now the backlog may actually be hastening the virus’ spread near Musina, and a super-spreader event can not be ruled out. 

According to reports from law enforcement officials conducting roadblocks just north of Musina, and truck drivers stuck in a stagnant queue of vehicles, the traffic backlog leading to Beitbridge ranges between 10km and 15km, across two lanes.

Frustrated freight truck drivers attempting to pass into Zimbabwe report being stuck at the border for more than 24 hours.

Passenger vehicles, taxis, and busses all battle to edge ahead of the slow-creeping queue. Many motorists and travellers caught in the December dash are forced to sleep in their vehicles.

While these scenes aren’t unusual during the busy festive season – in 2019, more than 200,000 travellers crossed into Zimbabwe in the week leading up to Christmas – complications arising from Covid-19 protocols are leading to longer delays even while travel is discouraged.

Although Beitbridge border is regarded as a 24-hour post, curfews in both Zimbabwe and South Africa have stopped operations between 22:00 and 04:00, with only freight-carrying vehicles allowed through during those hours, while passenger vehicles and pedestrians may not cross.

All people passing through the border post are required to present a negative Covid-19 test which is adding further pressure to the already-burgeoning backlog. Thupeyo Muleya of the Beitbridge Bureau reports that travellers caught up in the traffic jam arrive at the border post with “expired” Covid-19 test results.

South African regulations require all persons to present a negative Covid-19 certificate no older than 72 hours. Travellers argue, however, that due to delays on the border, these valid certificates, which were acquired before setting out on their journeys, expire before reaching the actual border checks.

An expired Covid-19 certificate forces travellers to cough up more money for a roadside resampling, or trip back to a public clinic in Musina – and then travellers have to join the back of the queue again.

The consequences could be deadly, with travellers mingling with little sign of social distancing, and without running water.

And although the situation on the South African side of the border has been noted with serious concern as a potential super-spreader event, Covid-19 risks in the small town of Beitbridge have been described as a “humanitarian crisis”.

Mike Fitzmaurice, the executive director of the Federation of East and Southern African Road Transport Associations (Fesarta), described the grim condition in an open letter to health minister Zweli Mkhize.

South African rules do not take into consideration antigen tests done in Zimbabwe, says Fitzmaurice. Truck drivers are required to undergo a test upon entry to South Africa, but these are only conducted between 09:00 and 17:00. Additionally, Fitzmaurice notes that the facilities and staffing levels are hopelessly inadequate to cope with the traffic volumes.

As a result, more than 3,000 truck drivers have been delayed by seven days, living in appalling conditions along the road or at poorly equipped parks. Others have flooded the small town of Beitbridge.

“In every residential street, there are trucks parked all over the place,” Fitzmaurice told Business Insider South Africa about the backlog on the Bulawayo road. “The whole town has been invaded by trucks [but] that’s through no fault of the truckers because they have nowhere else to go.”

Fitzmaurice says there is another dangerous aspect to the situation.

“The bribery and corruption is a huge opportunity [for corrupt officials]… it’s unbelievable what’s going on there right now,” says Fitzmaurice. “They’re even paying health officials to bypass the [Covid-19] test.”

Roadside traders have also started to charge exorbitant prices for goods, knowing that the stuck travellers have few options to acquire food or water, without abandoning their vehicles in search of the nearest store. Fitzmaurice says that motorists, out of desperation, are paying almost R15 for a litre of water.

Taking into account the operating costs of a commercial vehicle – including fuel use, tyre wear, deprecation of the vehicle – Fitzmaurice calculates the dire financial losses incurred by operators as a result of the backlog.

“In ten days [leading up] to Wednesday [16 December, it’s R295 million lost,” says Fitzmaurice. “Where we are now, that cost will be closer to R400 million… and that’s just south bound, [add] the north bound queue and that amount will be double. When this ends, it will be over R1 billion lost.

www.samigration.com

What is a Ministerial Waiver / Exemption and how does it work

Upon application to the Minister of Home Affairs, the Minister may under terms and conditions determined by him or her allow distinguished visitors or members of his/her family to be administered and sojourn in South Africa and or waive any prescribed (regulatory) requirements for good cause and/or grant any foreigner or category of foreigners the rights of permanent residence for a specified or unspecified period when special circumstances exist justifying such a decision.

S 31(2)(b) provides that the Minister may, upon application, grant a foreigner or a category of foreigners the right of permanent residence for a specified or unspecified period, when special circumstances exist justifying such a decision. The Minister may also exclude a foreigner or a group of ‘identified’ foreigners from such dispensation and may, for good cause, withdraw such right(s) from a foreigner or a category of foreigners. S 31(2)(c) provides that the Minister may for ‘good cause’ waive any prescribed requirement or form, in respect of any such application by a foreigner for the grant of permanent residence.

There are a myriad of circumstances that may arise wherein an applicant may apply to the Minister of Home Affairs to grant certain concessions in terms of section 31(2)(b) or under 31(2)(c) under the Immigration Act (the “Act”) that may pertain either to the acquisition of permanent residence “when special circumstances exist” or “for good cause, waive any prescribed requirement or form”.

The Minister is empowered in terms of the Immigration Act to “waive” any regulatory requirement or form.  A foreigner may apply for such waiver on the basis that “good cause” exists for the granting of such waiver.

The term “good cause” has never been defined, either in terms of legislation or by the South African judiciary.  In practical terms an applicant must demonstrate that there is compelling justification for the waiving of a regulatory requirement or form, and if the Department of Home Affairs (on behalf of the Minister) determines that a violation of a constitutional right, or an irrational consequence, will arise by a refusal to grant such waiver, waivers are normally granted.

A typical scenario necessitating a waiver under section 31(2)(c) would be where a specific requirement or form is applied to the Minister to be dispensed with.

Here are a few examples of waiver applications:

• A foreigner, sojourning in South Africa, has in the past submitted police clearance certificates from his country of residence of more than 12 months since his 18^th One of those countries is Saudi Arabia.  Since his last submission to the Department of Home Affairs of his Saudi Arabian police clearance certificate he has never returned to such country.  He now intends to apply for permanent residence in South Africa and will, in terms of Immigration Regulation 23(2)(e) require a police clearance certificate from Saudi Arabia.  Since he will not be able to acquire a new Saudi Arabian police clearance certificate without, at great expense and inconvenience, returning to that country physically to obtain one, he applies for a waiver from the aforementioned regulatory requirement in relation to a Nigerian ,USA or Saudi Arabia police clearance certificate if perhaps you have not lived there for 10 to 15 years and would have difficulty to obtain same .  Such applications have been largely successful.
• A refugee sojourning in South Africa in terms of the Refugees Act wishes to apply for a critical skills work visa in terms of section 19(4) of the Immigration Act. In terms of Ahmed and Others v Minister of Home Affairs and Another [2018], ZACC 39  an asylum seeker or refugee sojourning in South Africa must first apply for a waiver from the requirements of Immigration Regulation 9, which includes the requirement that any temporary residence visa applicant must submit his or her application in person to a foreign South African mission where such applicant ordinarily resides or holds citizenship.  Once the waiver from such requirement is granted only then may the asylum seeker or refugee proceed to submit an application for a temporary residence visa application in South Africa.  These waivers must ordinarily be granted otherwise a ruling by the Constitutional Court will be violated.

A regulatory waiver application made in South Africa may take anywhere between 4 – 7 months on average to be processed and adjudicated by the Department of Home Affairs.  In order to apply for a waiver the applicant must be in possession of a valid refugee or immigration status.

www.samigration.com

Jobless but making a living queueing for others at Home Affairs, Sassa and clinics

Cape Times  - 17 Dec  2020

Cape Town – Unemployed and desperate for work, innovators from Cape Town's townships are making money by standing in queues for people at Home Affairs, SA Social Security Agency (Sassa) offices and clinics, for a price of R50.

Waking up as early as 3am, 21-year-old Bahle Ngqula from Nyanga said he started the initiative when he lost his job at the start of the lockdown.

“My mother had an accident in February and I would go to the clinic to fetch her medication. That's when I started seeing the long queues; people would queue for very long hours, even the elderly.

’’I saw an opportunity for me to make ends meet and help where I could. Luckily, I found someone who was also doing the same thing, so we joined in business and we call ourselves ‘Thumathina Sikuyele' which means ‘send us, we will queue for you’,” he said.

Ngqula said they aspired to grow their two-person business and employ more people who were unable to get jobs, especially people with criminal records and those who had not finished school.

“There are so many people out there who can't run errands, who need our help. We would also like to expand to other provinces as well.

’’Our challenge is that we wake up very early, so safety is always an issue. We are saving also to buy bicycles for ourselves,” he said.

Mfundo Hashe, 40, of Khayelitsha, who charges between R30 and R40 to queue, said he started with helping the elderly with their grocery shopping.

“I started this kind of business around level 5 and level 4 of lockdown.

The business grew from helping people with their groceries to where now I queue at Home Affairs, Sassa offices, clinics and traffic departments. Since then I've never looked back.

’’It's been hectic because sometimes I have to wake up at 4am and make sure that we are in front of the lines. But it's what I've been doing for the past six months,” he said.

The oldest person in the business is 62-year-old Simphiwe Maqakaza of Nyanga, who has been standing in queues for busy people for almost three years.

“I do this because I am unemployed and don't get any money from the government. I don't want to knock on my neighbour's door and ask for food.

’’I decided to work for myself. People contact me, some see me on the streets, and ask me to queue for them,” he said.

Maqakaza, who said he sometimes had to sleep outside Sassa the day before to be the first in line the next day, said: “It's the way I live, it's not much trouble. The customers are happy, there is food on the table and I always eat before I go to bed.’’

www.samigration.com