South Africa: Major legal victories for Lawyers for Human Rights in two separate cases
Published: 17/Sep/2021
Source: Pretoria News (Independent online)
By Zelda Venter
Pretoria – Lawyers for Human Rights (LHR) scored major legal victories in two separate cases on behalf of people who have been fighting the various arms of government for years in a bid to simply continue with their lives in the country.
In the one case before the Gauteng High Court, Pretoria, a man born in the country at last obtained citizenship through the court’s intervention.
In the other case, two men who fled their countries of origin as they feared for their lives have now received refugee status, a major relief for them.
In the first matter, LHR assisted Emmanuel Bukweya Ngenani, who wanted to be recognised as a South African citizen and to receive an SA identity document. LHR successfully argued that the Home Affairs Department’s refusal to issue Ngenani with an ID was irrational.
Ngenani was born in South Africa to parents of Angolan descent in 1995, and he has lived in South Africa since birth. He had been consistently denied citizenship by the department, since applying for an ID when he turned 18.