Nel visits Durban immigration court as Kubayi orders operational check

Deputy Minister of Justice and Constitutional Development Andries Nel visited the Virtual Priority Court dealing with immigration matters at the Durban Magistrates Court on Tuesday 16 June 2026. The visit was made at the request of the Minister of Justice and Constitutional Development, Ms Mmamoloko Kubayi, and its stated purpose was to observe the operational functionality of the court.

The Department of Justice and Constitutional Development announced the visit in a statement published on 16 June 2026. The statement records the venue as the Durban Magistrates Court, at the corner of Somtseu and Stalwart Simelane Streets in Durban, and the time as 11h30.

How the court fits into the wider migration programme

The statement places the Virtual Priority Court within a set of measures announced by President Ramaphosa to ensure that immigration laws are respected and enforced and that every person who enters the country does so lawfully.

Those measures follow two earlier decisions. The President announced the direction in the State of the Nation Address in February 2026, and Cabinet subsequently adopted a Comprehensive Approach for Migration Management. Dedicated courts to deal with immigration matters form part of that approach, and the Virtual Priority Court at Durban Magistrates Court is one of them.

The Department of Justice and Constitutional Development said government is taking decisive action to address illegal immigration. The statement does not set out case volumes, conviction rates, the number of courts operating nationally, or the outcomes of any matters already heard. It is a media advisory for the visit and a summary of the policy position, not the court record itself.

What the visit means

The visit signals that the ministry is checking whether the dedicated court model works in practice, rather than only announcing it. The statement describes the purpose as observing operational functionality, which places the emphasis on how the court runs day to day.

For people with matters before the court, and for the officials and magistrates who staff it, the practical questions are the ones the statement leaves open: how many matters are enrolled, how quickly they are processed, and whether the virtual format holds up under a real caseload.

Access to the visit was limited to approved media applications. Members of the media were asked to submit applications to Mr Waldo de Goede by no later than 10h00 on Tuesday 16 June 2026.

Where the record comes from

The Department of Justice and Constitutional Development issued the statement through the Ministry of Justice and Constitutional Development of the Republic of South Africa. Media enquiries are directed to Ms Palesa Rammitlwa, spokesperson to the Minister of Justice and Constitutional Development, on 064 933 3628.

No further detail on the court’s caseload, its sitting schedule or the outcome of the Deputy Minister’s observations has been published in the statement. The next dated step is the court’s own continuing work, and any further reporting the department releases on how the dedicated immigration courts are performing.

Source: Department of Justice and Constitutional Development. Read the original item.