Stick to the law, High Court warns Home Affairs officials

THE High Court has issued to a stern warning to Namibia’s immigration authorities to strictly adhere to the country’s laws and not to deport alleged illegal immigrants without a proper order from an immigration tribunal.

In his second significant ruling on an immigration matter in a fortnight, Judge Petrus Damaseb cautioned immigration authorities in the High Court in Windhoek last Wednesday that any attempt to remove a Chinese national from Namibia without exhausting the provisions of the Immigration Control Act “will be illegal and will attract not only censure but stern action from this Court”. The Judge refused to grant a Chinese citizen, Tao Hua Zhu, an order restraining the Minister of Home Affairs and the Chief of Immigration from deporting him from Namibia.That did not leave the immigration authorities free to deport Tao, though.In Judge Damaseb’s opinion, a letter from Peter Mwatile, the Acting Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Home Affairs and Acting Chairman of the Immigration Selection Board, informing Tao that his application for the renewal of an employment permit had not been successful, and giving him 21 days to leave Namibia, was no proof that an immigration tribunal had directed Tao’s deportation from Namibia.Such a directive from an immigration tribunal would be an essential prerequisite before someone could be deported from Namibia, it appears from Judge Damaseb’s judgement.The Judge not only warned that any attempt by the authorities to remove Tao from Namibia without going through the procedures set by the Immigration Control Act would be illegal but would be met by “censure and stern action” from the High Court.He also directed Nixon Marcus, a lawyer from the Directorate Civil Litigation (Government Attorney) who was representing the Home Affairs Minister and the Chief of Immigration, to provide a copy of the court’s judgement to his clients and to explain to them the consequences if they or their officials failed to comply with the requirements of the law.While Judge Damaseb’s ruling may have provided clear guidance on the sort of situation in which Tao was, it however also means that conflicting signals on the same sort of situation have now emanated from the High Court in recent cases.Around the middle of September another Chinese national who had been warned to leave Namibia after his temporary employment permit was cancelled also rushed to the High Court to get an order forbidding his deportation.In his case, the letter informing him that he had to leave Namibia appeared to have been accepted by Judge Kato van Niekerk as sufficient indication of a deportation threat to warrant an urgent order against his deportation.It now appears that Judge Damaseb has, however, considered exactly that sort of official documentation as falling short of the requirements for a valid deportation order.Whatever lack of clarity there is on that score may still be authoritatively cleared up, though.Tao’s lawyer, Chris Brandt, has already filed a notice that he will be appealing to the Supreme Court against Judge Damaseb’s judgement.The Judge refused to grant a Chinese citizen, Tao Hua Zhu, an order restraining the Minister of Home Affairs and the Chief of Immigration from deporting him from Namibia.That did not leave the immigration authorities free to deport Tao, though.In Judge Damaseb’s opinion, a letter from Peter Mwatile, the Acting Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Home Affairs and Acting Chairman of the Immigration Selection Board, informing Tao that his application for the renewal of an employment permit had not been successful, and giving him 21 days to leave Namibia, was no proof that an immigration tribunal had directed Tao’s deportation from Namibia.Such a directive from an immigration tribunal would be an essential prerequisite before someone could be deported from Namibia, it appears from Judge Damaseb’s judgement.The Judge not only warned that any attempt by the authorities to remove Tao from Namibia without going through the procedures set by the Immigration Control Act would be illegal but would be met by “censure and stern action” from the High Court.He also directed Nixon Marcus, a lawyer from the Directorate Civil Litigation (Government Attorney) who was representing the Home Affairs Minister and the Chief of Immigration, to provide a copy of the court’s judgement to his clients and to explain to them the consequences if they or their officials failed to comply with the requirements of the law.While Judge Damaseb’s ruling may have provided clear guidance on the sort of situation in which Tao was, it however also means that conflicting signals on the same sort of situation have now emanated from the High Court in recent cases.Around the middle of September another Chinese national who had been warned to leave Namibia after his temporary employment permit was cancelled also rushed to the High Court to get an order forbidding his deportation.In his case, the letter informing him that he had to leave Namibia appeared to have been accepted by Judge Kato van Niekerk as sufficient indication of a deportation threat to warrant an urgent order against his deportation.It now appears that Judge Damaseb has, however, considered exactly that sort of official documentation as falling short of the requirements for a valid deportation order.Whatever lack of clarity there is on that score may still be authoritatively cleared up, though.Tao’s lawyer, Chris Brandt, has already filed a notice that he will be appealing to the Supreme Court against Judge Damaseb’s judgement.