The Department of Home Affairs yesterday rejected ‘categorically false’ claims that a Constitutional Court judgment grants asylum seekers SA citizenship or provides blanket legal status to foreign nationals.

IoL reports that it moved to clarify the implications of the Constitutional Court’s 7 July judgment, amid what it described as an ‘apparent co-ordinated disinformation campaign’ surrounding the ruling.

‘Claims that this judgment by the Constitutional Court grants asylum seekers citizenship or provides for the blanket legalisation of foreign nationals are also categorically false,’ it said.

The judgment relates to the operational processing of asylum applications and has also sparked claims surrounding the suspension of ‘good cause’ interviews.

Home Affairs stressed that it had vigorously opposed the court case and said it was misleading to suggest that changes flowing from the judgment had been initiated by the department, the Minister or political parties.

According to the department, the Constitutional Court handed down a binding judgment that it is legally required to implement.

‘An operational directive was subsequently issued solely to give effect to that judgment, as is standard practice to ensure compliance with rulings of the highest court in the land.’

The department said it was alarmed by what it described as a co-ordinated campaign targeting the Minister of Home Affairs and other officials. 

IoL reports that it accused unnamed actors of falsely claiming that the decision to suspend good cause interviews had been taken at the initiative of the Minister, department or political parties. The department said the matter would be referred to the Electoral Commission of SA for further action under the newly published Code of Conduct on Countering Disinformation.

‘Respect for binding court judgments is fundamental to the rule of law and our constitutional democracy,’ it added.

SA’s capacity to manage its asylum system is under renewed scrutiny following the judgment, reports The Star.

The issue is already visible at refugee reception centres, including in Durban and Pretoria, where hundreds of foreign nationals have gathered following a Home Affairs directive instructing offices to accept asylum applications from undocumented people in circumstances covered by the judgment.

Siseko Maposa, director at Surgetower Associates Management Consultancy, said the debate should focus on whether the state has the institutional capacity to implement the law.

He said the judgment provides access to the asylum process but does not amount to blanket approval, pointing to safeguards including biometric capturing, database cross-referencing, country-of-origin information assessments and statutory reviews.

He said Home Affairs data showed 3 994 applications were processed and 1 934 approved during the 2025/26 period.

ActionSA parliamentary chief whip Lerato Ngobeni said the party accepted that the government could not appeal the judgment and had to comply with it.

‘We are concerned with how the government is operationalising the judgment and whether it has the systems, resources and controls in place to manage its consequences. We do not believe it does.’

Home Affairs rejected suggestions that the judgment amounts to blanket legalisation or an open-door policy.

Full IoL report

Full report in The Star