The Minister of Home Affairs Aaron Motsoaledi will challenge the Pretoria High Court's ruling that decision to terminate the Zimbabwean Exemption Permits is unconstitutional and invalid. The court ruled on Wednesday that the more than 178 000 ZEP holders must be allowed to leave and enter the country and that they may not be dealt with in terms of the Immigration Act, arrested or detained.

In a statement on Thursday, the department spokesperson Siya Qoza said the minister said he has already instructed the legal representatives to launch an application for leave of appeal against the judgments and orders of the court. Motsoaledi said the judgment cannot go unchallenged as this will set a dangerous precedent. "The findings of the court on the applicability of certain sections of the Promotion of Administrative Justice Act [PAJA] is highly questionable, particularly the requirement for public participation when a decision of this nature is taken, affecting a specified category of persons only. In this instance, the affected are Zimbabwean nationals,' Qoza said. Qoza said the minister was also of the view that the judgment deals with matters relating to the separation of powers, which he believed was another strong ground for appeal. "The minister believes that the decision he took was correct and took into consideration all the interests and rights implicated, including those of children," Qoza adeded. 

Motsoaledi's decision not to renew the ZEP meant that permit holders, who either did not apply for an exemption or were not granted an exemption, would have to return to Zimbabwe. However, the minister intends to appeal the court's decision. The court has referred the matter back to Motsoaledi so that he can consider putting in place a fair process. The court also declared that pending the process, the ZEP will be deemed valid for the next 12 months. In a separate case, Zimbabwe Immigration Federation prevented any legal action from being taken against ZEP holders pending the outcome of a review application. A lawyer for the Zimbabwean Exemption Permit Holders' Association Advocate Simba Chitando said Home Affairs wouldn't be able to process all the applications by the end of the year. "We don't even believe that Home Affairs would be in a position to resolve the papers that they received and the applications they are claiming they received. We don't think they can handle them by the end of this year."

THE ZIMBABWEAN EXEMPTION PERMITS 

Since 2009, Zimbabweans who fled their country due to political and economic conflict were granted exemption permits allowing them to live and work in South Africa. Motsoaledi announced the termination of the ZEP in December 2022. Earlier this month, Motsoaledi extended the deadline to December 2023. The Helen Suzman Foundation (HSF) along with three other civil society organisations, took the Department of Home Affairs to court, challenging their decision to scrap the ZEP. They wanted the court to declare the minister's decision invalid and to have it set aside. Judge Colleen Collis, who was leading the full bench, reserved the ruling in the matter.