Ramaphosa says pulling asylum directive was lawful, as Durban and Soweto count the cost
The president defends the suspension as a step to assess the ruling properly, while commenters question whether the process has simply moved online.
President Cyril Ramaphosa has defended the Department of Home Affairs’ decision to suspend a directive that would have opened asylum applications to undocumented foreign nationals, saying the pause was lawful and not contempt of court.
He was speaking after unrest in Durban and Soweto, Johannesburg, following the announcement of the directive. As Briefly News reported on 12 October, the directive was withdrawn after the unrest, with the department citing safety concerns. Vehicles were torched and shops looted during the protests.
The conduct that accompanied the unrest is unlawful. Arson is a crime under South African law, and the destruction of property and theft during a gathering are prosecutable offences. Public violence and illegal gathering are also counts that can attach to a crowd.
Ramaphosa said the suspension was a considered step taken before proper implementation. “The implementation could have been premature. It needs to be properly assessed and properly interpreted and evaluated,” he said in a doorstep interview that Central News posted on X.
He rejected the suggestion that the government was ignoring the courts. “By no means is this contempt of court. We respect our courts. We are governed by a rule of law,” he said.
The president described the suspension as a good move that would calm the feelings of many South Africans. He attributed the unrest directly to the Constitutional Court ruling that underpinned the directive.
Home Affairs had announced that asylum applications would be opened to undocumented foreign nationals living in the country. The announcement prompted immediate backlash, and the directive was subsequently withdrawn.
The suspension has not settled the argument. Social media users disputed the government’s characterisation of events, with several commenters alleging that while the in-person application process had been paused, the online process remained active.
“But the online applications are proceeding what are you saying?” wrote @Faith12281.
@owensonO2 said: “There is no halting of the process. They are moving the process to online application. When will these people stop lying?”
@molukanele10487 wrote: “No department has suspended this for proper assessment as you say. It has moved online. Still status quo, Rams.”
@Most_HighPower asked: “What stopped them to act?”
@theflourish_er observed: “If you look at this man’s face, you can clearly see he is lying and this whole issue is making him uncomfortable.”
Those are claims made by members of the public on social media. They establish what was said and not that the underlying allegation is true. The Enquirer has not independently verified whether the online process remains open.
In a related report, Briefly News covered Ramaphosa’s response to the unrest, in which he said the security cluster was monitoring the situation. Many South Africans questioned whether monitoring was enough.
The Enquirer is seeking confirmation from Home Affairs on the status of online applications and on what, if anything, has changed for applicants who had already begun a process. That answer will determine what the suspension means in practice for the people who were in the queue.
The president’s defence of the suspension is on the record. So is the damage in Durban and Soweto, and so are the questions about whether the pause is a pause at all.
