Gov�t Defies Court Order To Relocate Asylum Seekers
Lebogang Mosikare | Wednesday July 19, 2017 13:59
The foreigners are inclusive of rejected and awaiting asylum seekers who are currently in detention at the Francistown Centre for Illegal Immigrants (FCII). Some of the petitioners and their small children have been languishing in custody at the FCII since 2015.
The government has denied the petitioners’ children who are ripe to attend school that basic universal human right.
In similar cases that were heard by various judges at the Francistown High Court since the beginning of this year, it was held that keeping the petitioners in perpetual detention at FCII more than 28 days is unlawful and therefore they should be released from custody forthwith.
On Wednesday afternoon, prominent human rights lawyer, Morgan Moseki who petitioned the state on behalf of the petitioners poured out his frustrations about the manner in which the state was treating the case since the court order was released.
Moseki said on July 5, a day after Solomon issued an order for the immediate release of the petitioners from detention, the director of refugees in the Ministry of Defence, Justice and Security, her deputy and government attorney Ndiye Balule from the Attorney General (AG) came to his office pleading with him that they needed time to comply with the court order.
“They added that they had no intention of appealing the order that was issued by Justice Solomon. They were pleading that they be given time up to July 7, to have started to move the petitioners to Dukwi Refugee Camp from FCII as ordered by the court. They said there was a motor vehicle which was on its way to Tsabong which they have since arranged that it should return to Francistown and be used to transport the petitioners to the Dukwi camp,” Moseki said.
Moseki added that he was also promised that the respondents would procure buses from public transporters to ferry the petitioners to the Dukwi camp.
He further said the respondents told him that tents, food and other necessities that would be needed by the petitioners have already been procured and would be ready by July 7.
“On July 6, I received a phone call from Balule requesting for a meeting with me at my office. During the meeting at my office, they informed me that they encountered a few hiccups but promised that they would start relocating the petitioners to Dukwi on July 7. That was the last time that I heard from the director of refugees,” Moseki said.
He said from July 7 to 9 he never heard anything from the director of refugees and his colleagues.
Moseki added: “On July 9, I travelled to Dukwi Refugee Camp to do my inspection in loco. I found that few tents were erected at the site where the petitioners will be staying, and the petitioners were yet to be relocated to Dukwi. On July 10, nothing again happened. On July 11, they called me and invited me to travel with them to Dukwi on July 12 to see progress made in preparations for the relocation of the petitioners.”
He said he travelled to Dukwi with state counsel Ida Joel from the AG and was disappointed to note the progress made in preparation for the arrival of the petitioners. He said the respondents had written to confirm that they would comply with the court order by July 13. He said it was clear that the respondents were dragging their feet to frustrate the court order.
The United High Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), Moseki stated, had provided food and other items in preparation for the arrival of the petitioners.
He said: “There were 142 tents on the site where the petitioners will be staying… That is all they have done. In my view, the respondent’s intention is to delay compliance with the court order”.
Moseki threatened to file an application to imprison the Director of Immigration, Officer in Charge of FCII and Director of Refugees in the Ministry of Defence, Justice and Security by July 13 (last week Thursday).
Moseki said what was disheartening after Solomon delivered an order is that he has since discovered that the petitioners have since been moved from the cells to an open area within FCII, but are not provided with any food.
“The petitioners survive by getting food from volunteers in Francistown.”
The judge previously ordered the respondent to release the petitioners and their dependents from detention with immediate effect and place them at Dukwi Refugee Camp pending removal from Botswana to a country of their preference or any country willing to receive them.