Court blocks Caprivi refugees deportation, orders detainees' release
Mpho Mokwape | Wednesday July 25, 2018 14:44
Lobatse High Court judge, Godfrey Nthomiwa today ordered that the government should not deport 709 refugees who refused to sign for voluntary repatriation.
He ordered that pending a review application to be lodged by the refugees no one should deport the refugees to Namibia/Caprivi strip.
“The respondents or anyone purporting to act on their behalf are hereby interdicted from deporting the applicants,” he said.
The deadline for the repatriation was on July 11, 2018 of which those who did not sign to be repatriated were threatened with deportation as per the Immigration Act.
The judge also ordered that the Ministry of Nationality, Immigration and Gender Affairs released refugees detained at the Francistown Centre for Illegal Immigrant and transport them back to Dukwi refugees’ camp.
The refugees among them Felix Kakula, who led another court case in 2015, were detained at SADC offices when they sought audience in relation to the repatriation process.
Furthermore, the judge said the refugees should not be repatriated until their reasons for fleeing no longer exist.