South Africa: Undocumented foreigner wins R1m in damages case against Home Affairs officials ‘who did not know the law’

The Eastern Cape High Court has ordered the Department of Home Affairs to pay damages up to a R1-million to a woman who admitted that she was illegally in the country after she was unlawfully detained for a month.

“It is rather confounding that the [Department of Home Affairs] pleaded ignorance of the provisions of section 34 of the Immigration Act. Section 34 is the provision of the Immigration Act empowering immigration officers to arrest and detain illegal foreigners pending…