The Fourways Review was contacted by an anonymous caller who said Douglasdale police had conducted an operation on 8 October outside Witkoppen Primary School where taxis were searched and occupants were asked for their identity documents.
A number of people did not have identification and were arrested under suspicion of being illegal immigrants. Since the Douglasdale Police Station did not have facilities for long-term detention, the people were transferred to the holding cells of Randburg Police Station. They were detained at the station while awaiting verification by Home Affairs for more than a week, until they were transferred to Lindela Repatriation Centre on 21 October to await deportation.
The caller suggested that the detention of the alleged illegal immigrants for longer than 48 hours was a human rights violation.
Warrant Officer Balan Muthan, head of communications for the Douglasdale police confirmed that the operation did take place on 8 October and the suspected illegal immigrants had been detained until 21 October. He said after illegal immigrants were arrested, it was no longer the police’s problem, but rather the onus fell on Home Affairs to deal with the deportation.
Colonel Tinus Swart of the Douglasdale police concurred and said if someone was arrested on suspicion of being an illegal immigrant, and did not have identification on their person, they could provide the police with their address and fetch their identity documents from their home.
Swart said this meant that all the people who were detained at Randburg Police Station were definitely illegal immigrants as they could not supply identity documents during their detention period. He said it was a requirement that a suspect be released within 48 hours if they were not charged with a crime, however the arrest of illegal immigrants was not covered by this rule as they were not charged but rather deported.
“We can’t just release people awaiting verification from Home Affairs because how would be ever find them again, and how would we track them down if they committed a crime?” Swart said.
Jean Berdou, chairperson of the Douglasdale Community Policing Forum said the reason the illegal immigrants were detained for so long was because Home Affairs extended their detention order to allow them time to verify the illegal immigrants and transfer them to Lindela.
“As far as I’m concerned Douglasdale police did nothing wrong,” he said.
Mayihome Tshwete, spokesperson for Home Affairs said the department was well within its rights to extend a detention order. He added that illegal immigrants could not be released pending transfer to Lindela.
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