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Home Affairs mum on Nigerian family deported to South Africa

· The South African

Despite the public demanding answers, the Department of Home Affairs has remained mum on the plight of the Nigerian family who were deported to South Africa from Ireland last week.

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Titilayo Oluwakemi Oyekanmi and her three sons were placed on board a chartered flight after their bid for asylum abroad was denied.

According to Ireland’s Minister of Justice Jim O’Callaghan, 63 illegal immigrants, including 9 children, have returned to SA.

HOME AFFAIRS MUM ON NIGERIAN FAMILY DEPORTED TO SOUTH AFRICA

According to the Irish Independent, 63 individuals were deported from Ireland to South Africa last weekend.

They included the Nigerian family, Titilayo Oluwakemi Oyekanmi and her three sons, who fled their permanent residency in SA in 2023.

Oyekanmi claimed that a criminal gang in South Africa had assaulted her and that she feared for the lives of her children. However, her asylum bid was denied.

The Irish Independent Party claimed that Oyekanmi had refused an offer of €10,000 (R193 000), which would cover flights and relocation expenses.

She and other South African individuals were forcibly removed.

On social media, many questioned why the Nigerian family had been deported to South Africa, and not their country of birth.

Many tagged the Department of Home Affairs and Minister Leon Schreiber for clarity, who have yet to respond.

Action SA’s Matthew Goege revealed that, as a result of the non-response, the party had submitted an official parliamentary question seeking answers.

Advocacy group Put South Africans First also weighed in on the debate, stating that South Africans had a right to be heard.

Activist Jacinta Ngobese shared on her social media account.”We want to know how they landed in Ireland with our passports. And we want the  Department of Home Affairs to arrest them and charge them criminally!

“We are tired of foreigners abusing our passports and the South African Government just letting them get away with it… Deport the kids to Nigeria and arrest the mother. Find the officials who helped them get passports and arrest them too”.

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The South African has reached out to the Department of Home Affairs for comment. None has been received. 

WHY NOT NIGERIA?

Ireland’s immigration laws state that individuals who are deported do not necessarily have to return to their country of birth.

As the Nigerian family had received lawful residency in South Africa, this was likely the avenue taken.

Under the Department of Justice, it was found that authorities were not convinced that the family qualified for refugee protection or that they could not live safely in South Africa.

The department stated that both the International Protection Office and the International Protection Appeals Tribunal were fully independent in deciding whether to grant international protection.

It added that each application is examined individually on its own merits, in line with national and international asylum law.

A Nigerian family have been deported to South Africa after their asylum bid in Ireland was denied. The Department of Home Affairs has not publicly commented on the news.
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Deportation orders are issued to a country that is legally obliged or willing to take the individual.

According to South Africa’s immigration laws, South Africa must accept citizens who have been deported from other countries. Foreign nationals deported to South Africa require a legal right to enter, ie, via permanent residence.

They may also accept foreign nationals who were returned through an official deportation arrangement, particularly if South Africa was the last country they departed from.

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