Blocking of IDs declared unconstitutional by High Court
Civic organisations filed an application in the Gauteng High Court in Pretoria, challenging the Department’s practice of blocking of IDs.
Last week The South African reported that over two million South Africans were still awaiting the resolution of a legal challenge against the Department of Home Affairs (DHA), which had blocked their identity documents (IDs) and negatively impacted their lives. Lawyers for Human Rights and other civic organisations filed an application in the Gauteng High Court, Pretoria, challenging the Department’s practice of blocking of IDs.
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BLOCKING OF IDS UNCONSTITUTIONAL
On Wednesday, the Pretoria High Court declared the DHA’s practice of “blocking” IDs of South Africans as unconstitutional, ruling that it lacks a fair administrative process.
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The DHA places markers on suspicious IDs to prevent illegal foreigners from accessing benefits reserved for citizens and permanent residents.
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Individuals with blocked IDs face restrictions on travel, voting, healthcare, education, and banking. The court heard that the DHA had recently unblocked 1.8 million IDs, with over 700,000 still blocked.
The case was brought by Phindile Mazibuko, Lawyers for Human Rights (LHR), and LegalWise, with the Children’s Institute presenting evidence on the impact on children.
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PLACING OF MARKERS WITHOUT A FAIR PROCESS IS ‘INVALID’
LHR argued that many affected individuals were unaware of the blocking of their IDs and were not given the opportunity to make representations before the decision.
The judgment declared the placing of markers without a fair process invalid, with a 12-month suspension for the DHA to rectify its database.
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“We are happy that we will see an end to this unjust practice and we hope that this judgment will be the first step in restoring dignity to the thousands of people who have suffered,” said Thandeka Chauke, head of the Statelessness Unit at LHR.