SA Home Affairs Drags ZEP Holders to Constitutional Court
Pretoria High Court issued an interim interdict preventing the government from detaining or deporting any ZEP holders
SA Home Affairs Drags ZEP Holders to Constitutional Court
South Africa’s Minister of Home Affairs Aaron Motsoaledi is persisting with his court battle to scrap the Zimbabwean Exemption Permit (ZEP) programme.
As reported by GroundUp, in June 2023, the Pretoria High Court ruled that the termination of the ZEP had been unlawful and unconstitutional.
Victory for ZEP Holders as Court Rules ZEP Termination Illegal
Motsoaledi then appealed the ruling but it was dismissed by the Supreme Court of Appeal on the grounds it had no prospects of success.
The Minister has turned to the Constitutional Court, essentially on the same grounds, asking that it adjudicate over the issue.
In the application lodged in the Constitutional Court, Home Affairs director-general Livhuwani Tommy Makhode, who is the second applicant after the minister, wants leave to appeal against the whole June 2023 judgment of the Pretoria High Court.
The High Court ruling ordered the minister to reconsider the termination of the programme and follow a fair, lawful, and consultative process.
SA Home Affairs Drags ZEP Holders to Constitutional Court
The Pretoria High Court then refused to grant leave to appeal.
The Helen Suzman Foundation and others are expected to oppose the application. They have until March 15 to file papers.
This comes a few weeks after Home Affairs Minister Aaron Motsoaledi encountered a setback in his attempt to challenge the High Court Pretoria’s ruling.
The court had invalidated his decision from December 2021 to terminate the Zimbabwean Exemption Permit (ZEP) and had also issued an interim interdict preventing the government from detaining or deporting any permit holders.
In November of the previous year, Motsoaledi had turned to the Supreme Court of Appeal (SCA) in Bloemfontein to appeal these judgments, arguing that they established a hazardous precedent.
South Africa's ZEP Termination is Invalid
However, the SCA has now rejected his application for leave to appeal, ordering Motsoaledi to cover the associated costs.
The appellate court concluded that there were no reasonable prospects of success in an appeal, dealing a significant blow to Motsoaledi’s endeavors.
