Gov�t appeals order to relocate asylum seekers to Dukwi
Goitsemodimo Kaelo | Friday October 6, 2017 12:56
Government has filed an appeal at the Court of Appeal (CoA) against Justice Phadi Solomon’s decision which declared the incarceration of the asylum seekers at FCII as unlawful and ordered that the asylum seekers be released 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.
The asylum seekers had taken the director of Immigration and Citizenship, officer commanding of Botswana Prison Service and the officer commanding of the FCII, who are represented by the Attorney General (AG) to court seeking an order that their perpetual incarceration at the FCII be declared unlawful.
The case is set for roll call today when the CoA session begins.
Government, represented by Collins Newman and Company contends that Section 18 of the Immigration Act empowers the state to move the respondents out of Botswana because they are not citizens of the country, and have no documents that allow them to stay since their asylum applications were rejected.
They argue that the law entitles the government to detain the foreigners if their asylum applications have been rejected.
However, Francistown-based human rights attorney, Morgan Moseki who is fighting on the corner of the asylum seekers maintains that the perpetual incarceration is unlawful.
Moseki argues that the government wanted to indefinitely keep the applicants in custody.
It is said that some of the asylum seekers and their young children have been languishing in the FCII since 2015 contrary to the law that states that keeping them at the FCII for more than 28 days is unlawful.
Meanwhile, despite government’s appeal the permanent secretary in the Ministry of Defence, Justice and Security Segakweng Tsiane has told the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) meeting in Geneva, Switzerland that government has intensified its support for refugees by among others implementing the court order relating to the release of rejected asylum seekers from the FCII.