But Lawyers for Human Rights disagrees with the court’s reasoning and is appealing  By Ohene Yaw Ampofo-Anti Eight Somali nationals, who currently live in South Africa, are seeking asylum here. But their applications for asylum were turned down by Home Affairs officials. They appealed to the Refugee Appeal Board (RAB), which also turned them down. Represented by Lawyers for Human Rights, the eight...

Asylum delayed is not (necessarily) asylum denied By Ohene Yaw Ampofo-Anti If a foreign national arrives in South Africa unlawfully and takes as long as 15 months to apply for asylum, are they barred from doing so? Is the person liable for deportation or should they be given an opportunity to at least apply for asylum? The Constitutional Court recently considered these...

“The courts had spoken. We had to do it,” says Deputy Minister of Home Affairs By GroundUp correspondent The Port Elizabeth Refugee Reception Office was officially re-opened on Friday by Minister of Home Affairs Malusi Gigaba. The province has been without such a facility since Home Affairs unilaterally closed it in 2011. Following years of legal action, public outcry and civil society activism,...