Home Affairs Minister Aaron Motsoaledi suffered a blow in court this week, when the High Court in Pretoria ruled that his decision to suspend the ZEP programme was “unlawful, unconstitutional and invalid”
programme was “unlawful, unconstitutional and invalid”, and prohibited the arrest of ZEP holders for being in the country illegally.
This means that pending the conclusion of a fair process and Motsoaledi's new decision within 12 months, existing ZEPs will remain valid for the next 12 months, guaranteeing ZEP-holders the protections against arrest, deportation or detention based on not having a valid exemption certificate. Motsoaledi's decision to extend the ZEP until December 2022 was made without notifying or consulting ZEP holders, civil society, or the general public.
The home affairs director-general denied that a decision to terminate the ZEP programme had been made, but this contradicted previous directives and press statements. The court concluded that the minister failed to consider the impact on ZEP-holders, their families and their children, leading to the decision being reviewed and set aside on the grounds of not considering relevant information and being unreasonable.In addition to the above reasons, the minister flatly refused to engage with these representations with an open mind.
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