The Ministry of Home Affairs and Immigration must design a training
programme for its officials whose duties include the enforcement of
the Immigration Control Act, Windhoek High Court judge Shafimana
Ueitele has ordered.
The ministry`s permanent secretary and chief immigration officer must
also design programmes that would help the ministry monitor the
detention of alleged illegal immigrants in Namibia, and should have
training programmes on the Immigration Control Act in place by no
later than the end of September this year, judge Ueitele further
ordered in a judgement delivered last Thursday.
In addition, judge Ueitele directed that nobody who has not been
trained or is not conversant with the provisions of the Immigration
Control Act be permitted to exercise any powers under the law after
the end of November.
Judge Ueitele made the order at the end of a case in which Ombudsman
John Walters sued the minister of home affairs and immigration, the
home affairs ministry`s chief of immigration, the immigration
tribunal, the minister of safety and security, the Inspector General
of the Namibian Police, and the station commanders of the Windhoek,
Katutura, Wanaheda and Seeis police stations over the illegal
detention of nearly 50 people accused of being unlawfully in Namibia.
Walters lodged an urgent application about the detention of 46
alleged illegal immigrants in the Windhoek High Court in February
last year. With the Ombudsman questioning the legality of the
immigrants` detention, who were held in custody in police cells in
Windhoek and at Seeis, a government lawyer conceded that they were
detained unlawfully, and judge Ueitele ordered their release in
February last year.
Walters informed the court in an affidavit that investigators from
his office discovered that the 46 detainees - most hailing from
Angola, Zimbabwe, the Democratic Republic of Congo, and Kenya - were
being detained under warrants that were not signed, that no warrants
authorising the detention of some of

the detainees could be found,
and that no warrants for the detention of several detainees had been
issued after the 14-day detention period authorised by initial
warrants had passed.
Walters also charged that immigration officials who had the 46
detained without the authorisation required by law, had no regard for
the constitutional rights of the detainees, and appeared to be a law
unto themselves.
In answering affidavits by two immigration officers, which were also
filed in court, it was admitted that there was a lack of proper
administration in the Directorate of Immigration and Border Control
and that immigration officers were not able to keep track of all
alleged illegal immigrants detained, because the directorate did not
have a proper record-keeping system.
That revelation by the immigration officers was `a shocking exposure
of the institutional incompetence` of the Ministry of Home Affairs
and Immigration, judge Ueitele commented in his judgement. That
incompetence led to infringements of people`s constitutional rights,
exposed Namibia`s government to claims for damages, and also put the
national security of the country at risk, he said.
Judge Ueitele concluded that the unlawful detention of the 46
detainees was not motivated by malice on the part of individual
immigration officials, but was the result of institutional failures
in the Ministry of Home Affairs and Immigration. As a result of that
finding, he decided not to order the immigration officials
responsible for the detention of the 46 to pay the Ombudsman`s legal
costs in the matter, but instead ordered the minister of home affairs
and immigration and the other respondents to bear the Ombudsman`s
legal costs.
Lawyers Yoleta Campbell and Norman Tjombe represented the Ombudsman
in the matter. Government lawyer Sylvia Kahengombe represented the
respondents. V.2179

One of the highlighted topics: Critical Skills Visa.

- Key Insight: Is your profession on the Critical Skills List? This visa is your fast track to working in South Afr...
- This matter relates to critical skills visa and its broader implications.
- Individuals are advised to seek professional guidance.

Is your profession on the Critical Skills List? This visa is your fast trac V.6139
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One of the applicants, Phindile Mazibuko, became a victim of identity theft in 2012 when fraudulent transactions occurred, using her personal details.

-The Pretoria High Court found that the department of home affairs had violated constitutional rights without due process.
-Only half of Lawyers for Human Rights` test group has been unblocked, while 385 000 identities remain blocked nationwide.
-LHR appeals extension, urges affected people to seek help now.

Lawyers for Human Rights (LHR) are intensifying pressure on the department of home affairs over the national ID-blocking crisis, accusing the state of acting too slowly to unblock qualifying individuals despite a landmark court ruling.

In January last year, the Pretoria High Court found that the department`s practice of blocking IDs without due process was unlawful and unconstitutional. One of the applicants, Phindile Mazibuko, a Swati citizen and South African permanent resident since 1998, fell victim to identity theft in 2012 when fraudsters used her personal details.

 V.6133
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The Border Management Authority (BMA) has doubled its staff at Airports in South Africa , including immigration officers.

What does this mean for travelers? V.6128
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The Border Management Authority (BMA) has doubled its staff at Airports in South Africa , including immigration officers.

What does this mean for travelers? V.6129
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A Washington state mother and her 6-year-old son have been released after spending more than three weeks in US immigration detention due to a brief trip to Canada and a small paperwork mistake, her attorney told CNN on Saturday.

Sarah Shaw, a New Zealand citizen who has lived legally in the US since she arrived in 2021, was detained at the Blaine, Washington, Customs and Border Protection checkpoint when returning home after dropping her two oldest children off at the Vancouver airport for a flight to visit their grandparents in New Zealand. Shaw, 33, chose the flight out of Vancouver because it was direct and she didn`t want her children to have to navigate a layover alone, her attorney Minda Thorward, told CNN.

 V.6130
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On 22 July 2025, the Gauteng High Court dismissed Sitrusrand Boerdery`s review of the Department of Employment and Labour`s refusal to issue a Working Conditions and Salary Benchmarking Certificate, an essential precondition for obtaining corporate visas under the Immigration Act.

Acting Judge Kekana AJ held that the Department`s decision was lawful, rational and procedurally fair. This judgment illustrates how businesses can - and must - structure their corporate visa applications to meet statutory requirements, and how legal practitioners should prepare robust review challenges when administrative authorities decline to recommend foreign-work permits.

 V.6131
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The United States could forfeit an estimated 9.4 billion dollars in visitor spending over the next three years following the introduction of a new 250 dollars `visa integrity fee,` according to industry groups, who warn the policy risks undermining tourism and costing thousands of jobs.
The United States’ decision to introduce a 250 dollars `visa integrity fee` on international visitors has triggered sharp criticism from the global tourism industry, with officials warning that the measure could deter millions of travellers and cost the U.S. economy billions.
The 250dollar `visa integrity fee,` part of the One Big Beautiful Bill Act signed on July 4, 2025, will take effect later this year. According to immigration law firm Envoy Global, it applies to all nonimmigrant visa holders which include students, tourists, temporary workers, and business visitors particularly from African countries. V.6132
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The Border Management Authority (BMA) has doubled its staff at Airports in South Africa , including immigration officers.

What does this mean for travelers? V.6127
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1. Right to Legal Representation•You have the right to consult with a legal representative.•Contact an immigration practitioner, legal aid clinic, or attorney urgently.•Do not sign any documents without understanding them fully. 2. Section 34 of the Immigration Act•You must be brought to court with 48 hours to confirm arrest but you can remain locked up very long as courts figure out what to do with you •If you`re found to be illegally in South Africa, you may be detained for up to 30 days (extendable by a magistrate) pending deportation.•BUT this cannot happen arbitrarily. You must be informed of your rights, and Home Affairs must follow due process.- becomes a nightmare , you could lose your job , business , place to stay V.6121
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Driving for Bolt, Uber, Mr D, or Checkers Sixty60?If you`re undocumented, you`re risking more than just your income.The Risks if You`re Not Legal: - Vehicle impoundment - Heavy fines - Arrest & deportation - Permanent bans from working in SA V.6122
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