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The Department of Home Affairs is alarmed by an apparent coordinated disinformation campaign surrounding the Constitutional Court judgment of 7 July 2026 in the Scalabrini of Cape Town matter, concerning the operational processing of asylum applications.

The matter will be referred to the Independent Electoral Commission for further action in terms of the newly published Code of Conduct on Countering Disinformation.

Despite it being public knowledge that this case was vigorously opposed by the Department and that it led to a binding ruling of the Constitutional Court, nefarious actors have launched a large-scale disinformation campaign targeting the Minister of Home Affairs and other officials, claiming that the decision to suspend good cause interviews was taken at the initiative of the Minister, the Department, or political parties.

This is categorically false. The Constitutional Court handed down a binding judgment, which the Department is constitutionally obliged to implement. An operational directive was subsequently issued solely to give effect to that judgment, as is standard practice to ensure compliance with rulings of the highest court in the land.

Claims that this judgment by the Constitutional Court grants asylum seekers citizenship or provides for the blanket legalisation of foreign nationals are also categorically false.

Respect for binding court judgments is fundamental to the rule of law and our constitutional  democracy.  The  Department  will  continue  to  fulfil  its constitutional obligations, irrespective of whether it was successful in the litigation  concerned.  At  the  same  time,  the  deliberate  spreading  of disinformation designed to inflame tensions and violence is a threat to the stability of our society.

The Department condemns, in the strongest terms, the peddlers of this disinformation. It also calls on South Africans to help combat the growing scourge of disinformation and incitement faced by Home Affairs officials on a daily basis, by verifying information prior to spreading lies that seek to incite violence or destabilise the foundations of our constitutional order.

Issued by Department of Home Affairs