Kunene Insists Children Of Illegal Migrants, Born In South Africa, Must Be Sent To Their Home Countries

The Patriotic Alliance (PA), a far-right South African opposition political party, says children of immigrants from Zimbabwe and other countries who were born and have lived in South Africa since birth, must be sent back to their countries of origin.

Speaking at the IOL elections discussion in Sandton, the outspoken Kenny Kunene, who is PA deputy president and Gauteng premier candidate, said South Africa has no room for illegal immigrants and their children born in the country. Said Kunene:

The problem of migrants … illegal migration is not perceived but it is real. It is practical. It is there. The child that is born in South Africa of migrants must go back home.

You have heavily pregnant women getting on buses at Beitbridge (or) in Lesotho going to Park Station, getting to Rahima Moosa hospital, and paying nurses R1,000 so that they can get on a bed.

South African pregnant women lie on the floor waiting to be attended. The child is born in South Africa. They get onto the bus, and take the child to Zimbabwe, Mozambique or Lesotho.

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The fact that the child is now 17, does not matter, he or she is not a South African. They must all go back home with their illegal parents.

Kunene was reacting to a question posed by Nicholas Ngqabutho Mabhena, a prominent figure in the Zimbabwean community, who queried the PA’s position on children who were born to migrants but have attained the age of 17, living in South Africa.

However, RISE Mzansi’s Gauteng premier candidate, Vuyiswa Ramokgopa said children born in South Africa should be granted citizenship or resident status in South Africa. She said:

We have people who buy IDs at Home Affairs, we have all kinds of issues that are a function of a government that cannot enforce its laws.

We have a government which is unable to enforce the existing laws, which is why we have a perceived migration challenge right now.

The government itself cannot tell you how many illegal migrants are here and what are they doing etc. In my opinion, a child born in this country should be able to be a citizen or resident of this country.

They should be able to apply legally and receive legal permits. If that does not happen, they must go through the legal channels.

The IOL Elections Panel Discussion was held at the Sandton Radisson Blu Hotel in Johannesburg on Friday.

According to a report, as of 2022, approximately 773,246 Zimbabweans were residing in South Africa. Among them, 461,293 were men, and 311,953 were women.

Only 178,000 of these Zimbabweans living and working in South Africa hold valid permits, the Zimbabwe Exemption Permits (ZEPs).

More: Pindula News