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The Director-General of the Department of Home Affairs has withdrawn the directive that had been issued by his office on 28 September regarding the intake of asylum seeker applications following the judgement of the Constitutional Court on 7 July in the Scalabrini of Cape Town matter.  

The directive was originally issued to all Refugee Reception Offices (RROs) as a purely operational attempt to support the implementation of the Court’s order without reference to, or the knowledge of, the Minister of Home Affairs or any other political office-bearer. Claims that it was a politically-motivated decision are therefore categorically untrue, as the directive emanated from a Constitutional Court case that the Department had opposed. 

However, the attempt to practically implement the judgement immediately led to serious consequences that could not have been foreseen in the Court order. This includes, amongst others, the fact that RRO operations were overwhelmed within a matter of days since the directive was issued, Home Affairs officials were placed at risk, and that serious threats to public safety and order had emerged. 

With these new facts now at hand, the Department will embark on a fresh process to determine the most appropriate operational approach to ensure compliance with the Constitutional Court’s order. The Department reaffirms its respect for the judiciary and the rule of law, as well as its commitment to determine an operationally appropriate and sustainable method to comply with the order. 

Issued by the Department of Home Affairs