ActionSA's Bongani Baloyi has applauded law enforcement efforts after the party's leadership, including Herman Mashaba, attended the bail hearing of an alleged passport syndicate at the Krugersdorp magistrate's court.
The bail hearing resumed last week and continues on Wednesday.
In an interview with TimesLIVE, Baloyi said the party would support efforts to enforce immigration laws and root out criminality.
“We went to court to support law enforcement, observe the proceedings and strongly suggest this is a matter of public interest, and those presiding over the matter must appreciate that and do what is best for the republic,” he said.
Mashaba said the party's stance was that the group should be denied bail because they pose a flight risk
“One of the suspects, a Somalian national, only has their Somalian birth certificate and no other official South African documentation. How did he get into the country? When he disappears after he's granted bail, how would authorities find him? Our view is that they remain in custody,” said Baloyi.
South Africans recently witnessed violent tensions between locals and foreign nationals, which in Diepsloot led to the murder of Elvis Nyathi, a Zimbabwean national.
ActionSA was accused by the DA, among others, of expressing views on immigration that fuelled the tensions.
Asked whether his party's stance on immigration is misunderstood, Baloyi said the DA and others were using his party as a scapegoat to avoid the truth and lived realities of South Africans.
“The DA took an oath of office which includes protecting the laws of the republic. The Immigration Act is a law of the republic. When people are not implementing the Immigration Act, that brings us to question the commitment and validity of an oath of office taken by those people.
“We are not calling for creation of new laws, but the implementation of the Immigration Act. When someone comes into your country without going through the legal points of entry, they have committed a criminal offence,” said Baloyi.
ActionSA attends passport 'syndicate' bail hearing: 'Those presiding must do what's best for the republic'
Image: Sharon Seretlo
ActionSA's Bongani Baloyi has applauded law enforcement efforts after the party's leadership, including Herman Mashaba, attended the bail hearing of an alleged passport syndicate at the Krugersdorp magistrate's court.
The bail hearing resumed last week and continues on Wednesday.
In an interview with TimesLIVE, Baloyi said the party would support efforts to enforce immigration laws and root out criminality.
“We went to court to support law enforcement, observe the proceedings and strongly suggest this is a matter of public interest, and those presiding over the matter must appreciate that and do what is best for the republic,” he said.
Mashaba said the party's stance was that the group should be denied bail because they pose a flight risk
“One of the suspects, a Somalian national, only has their Somalian birth certificate and no other official South African documentation. How did he get into the country? When he disappears after he's granted bail, how would authorities find him? Our view is that they remain in custody,” said Baloyi.
South Africans recently witnessed violent tensions between locals and foreign nationals, which in Diepsloot led to the murder of Elvis Nyathi, a Zimbabwean national.
ActionSA was accused by the DA, among others, of expressing views on immigration that fuelled the tensions.
Asked whether his party's stance on immigration is misunderstood, Baloyi said the DA and others were using his party as a scapegoat to avoid the truth and lived realities of South Africans.
“The DA took an oath of office which includes protecting the laws of the republic. The Immigration Act is a law of the republic. When people are not implementing the Immigration Act, that brings us to question the commitment and validity of an oath of office taken by those people.
“We are not calling for creation of new laws, but the implementation of the Immigration Act. When someone comes into your country without going through the legal points of entry, they have committed a criminal offence,” said Baloyi.
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