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The Helen Suzman Foundation (HSF), represented by DLA Piper (www.DLAPiper.com) and lawyer Steven Budlender SC, has succeeded in challenging the Home Secretary over the legality of ending Zimbabwe’s Exempt Licensing Regime (ZEP) in the Supreme Court of Pretoria. The ruling, announced on June 28, considers the minister’s actions to be unconstitutional. The termination of the ZEP regime is said to have left at least 178,000 Zimbabweans, who have been legally living, working and attending school in South Africa for more than a decade under the regime, undocumented and subject to deportation.
In 2021, South African Home Secretary Aaron Motsoaledi made the decision to end the ZEP regime without consulting the affected individuals or the country as a whole. HSF then took the case to the Supreme Court, arguing that the minister’s decision was unconstitutional, illegal and invalid. This week, the Court ruled in favor of HSF, a result celebrated by the thousands of legally settled Zimbabweans who were forced to become illegal immigrants overnight.
HSF put forward a range of arguments in support of its belief that the decision was unconstitutional. The first is that the decision was made without consulting ZEP holders or the South African public more broadly, a right enshrined in the Constitution for decision-makers in the exercise of public power, making the process unfair. This deprived the Minister of the real impact his decision would have on the lives of ZEP holders. Another argument is that given the destructive effect the abrupt termination of ZEPs will have on the lives of holders and their children, the minister’s decision unjustifiably limits their constitutional rights.
As a result of the Supreme Court’s ruling, the Minister’s decision to terminate ZEPs has been declared invalid and overturned. As a result, the Court ordered the Minister to reconsider his decision within 12 months following a proper, procedural due process.
Nicole Fritz, Director of the Helen Suzman Foundation (HSF), commented: “The ZEP is considered by many to be a progressive pan-African plan that has helped manage migration and foster socio-economic stability across Southern Africa. While this case revolves around ZEP holders, the principles of the case are of interest to anyone living in South Africa. Hasty government action that does not respect everyone’s right to be consulted fairly when their rights are violated must be opposed in all its manifestations. This so that South Africa can be a place where the government exercises its power fairly, deliberately and with full insight into the consequences.
Nicolas Patrick, Pro Bono and Responsible Business partner at DLA Piper, added: “HSF has brought this case on behalf of ZEP holders who have been legally resident in South Africa for over a decade and have contributed to this country in countless ways. The minister’s decision to end ZEPs without consulting those directly affected would have caused massive harm to some 178,000 people and their families, so we are pleased that it has been declared unconstitutional. By reaffirming the right to representation, a fundamental principle of South African law, the court upholds and protects the rights not only of ZEP holders, but of every South African.
Distributed by APO Group on behalf of DLA Piper.
Notes to editors:
Zimbabwe Exempt Permits (ZEP):
In April 2009, South Africa instituted the Dispensation of Zimbabwean Permit (DZP) to regularize the status of thousands of Zimbabwean nationals who had fled political and economic instability in their country, mainly between 2007 and 2009. The special exemption was reissued in 2014 and then again in 2017, as the ZEP.
Those applying for the ZEP had to demonstrate that they had the financial means to support themselves in South Africa and that they had no criminal record. As a result, ZEP holders are today a population of law-abiding and economically active foreigners, who have spent the past thirteen years building lives in South Africa – after being forced to do so by Zimbabwe’s appalling conditions. Many ZEP holders have children who know no home other than South Africa.
Contact:
Kirstin Scott O’Carroll,
Senior Communications Manager, DLA Piper,
Phone: +442071537005,
e-mail: (email protected)
About the Helen Suzman Foundation:
The Helen Suzman Foundation aims to promote constitutional democracy, rule of law and human rights in South Africa. In particular, it seeks to bring public interest lawsuits that protect the rights of vulnerable persons who are unable to do so using the ordinary political process; to support public advocacy and dialogue that promote public participation and deliberation resulting in informed, reasoned decision-making; and to end impunity for systematic criminal behavior that undermines a rule of law – whether crimes related to state capture or apartheid-era atrocities.
About DLA Piper:
DLA Piper is a global law firm with attorneys in more than 40 countries in the Americas, Europe, the Middle East, Africa and Asia Pacific. In certain jurisdictions, this information may be considered advertising for attorneys. DLAPiper.com
This press release is issued by APO. The content is not checked by the African Business editors and none of the content has been checked or validated by our editors, proofreaders or fact-checkers. The publisher is solely responsible for the content of this announcement.
The Helen Suzman Foundation successfully challenges the South African Home Secretary on ending Zimbabwe Exemption Permits (ZEP)
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