The Lindela Repatriation Centre is a detention centre for undocumented migrants in

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the north by the neighbouring countri ...

. The Lindela Repatriation Centre (Lindela) is one of South Africa's largest facilities for the holding of undocumented migrants. These people are all awaiting determination of their legal status in South Africa (or deportation). Due to an ever increasing burden on SAPS holding cells and the lack of detention capacity in the country's prisons, the need for a repatriation centre in Gauteng was identified by the Department of Home Affairs. In 1996, Lindela was opened to meet this requirement. It claims to be compliant with all

good governance Good governance is the process of measuring how public institutions conduct public affairs and manage public resources and guarantee the realization of human rights in a manner essentially free of abuse and corruption and with due regard for th ...

and lawful criteria. The Department of Home Affairs is legally and administratively responsible for all matters pertaining to the apprehension, holding, processing, repatriation and release of illegal aliens at the Lindela repatriation centre. Detainees are repatriated and transported by Home Affairs, almost on a daily basis, to border posts or O. R. Tambo International Airport and

Lanseria International Airport Lanseria International Airport is a privately owned international airport that is situated north of Randburg and Sandton to the northwest of Johannesburg, South Africa. The airport can handle aircraft up to the size of a Boeing 757-300 and th ...

Controversies

The centre has been strongly criticized for corruption overcrowding and abuse of detainees and serious concerns have been expressed about

human rights Human rights are Morality, moral principles or Social norm, normsJames Nickel, with assistance from Thomas Pogge, M.B.E. Smith, and Leif Wenar, 13 December 2013, Stanford Encyclopedia of PhilosophyHuman Rights Retrieved 14 August 2014 for ce ...

violations. Popular movements like

Abahlali baseMjondolo Abahlali baseMjondolo (AbM, , in English: "the residents of the shacks") is a socialist shack dwellers' movement in South Africa which organises land occupations, builds communes

Durban Durban ( ) ( zu, eThekwini, from meaning 'the port' also called zu, eZibubulungwini for the mountain range that terminates in the area), nicknamed ''Durbs'',Ishani ChettyCity nicknames in SA and across the worldArticle on ''news24.com'' from ...

and the

Anti-Privatisation Forum The Anti-Privatisation Forum (APF) was established in Johannesburg in July 2000 by activists and organisations involved in two key anti-privatisation struggles: the struggle against iGoli 2002, and the struggle against Wits 2001 at Wits University ...

Johannesburg Johannesburg ( , , ; Zulu and xh, eGoli ), colloquially known as Jozi, Joburg, or "The City of Gold", is the largest city in South Africa, classified as a megacity, and is one of the 100 largest urban areas in the world. According to Demo ...

have called for Lindela to be shut down. In March and June 2012 there were riots at the centre. Various reports critical of abuses of human rights at the centre have been ignored. In September 2014 following two complaints by the Medecins Sans Frontieres or Doctors without Borders, Section 27, and People Against Suffering, Oppression and Poverty; the

South African Human Rights Commission The South African Human Rights Commission (SAHRC) was inaugurated in October 1995 as an independent chapter nine institution. It draws its mandate from the South African Constitution by way of the Human Rights Commission Act of 1994. Commissioner ...

released a report identifying certain healthcare and legal issues at Lindela. The South African Parliament then formed a Portfolio Committee on

Home Affairs An interior ministry (sometimes called a ministry of internal affairs or ministry of home affairs) is a government department that is responsible for internal affairs. Lists of current ministries of internal affairs Named "ministry" * Ministry ...

to look into the allegations and was given 3 months to report back to parliament. In October 2014, detainees stopped a hunger strike after they claimed guards attacked them using rubber bullets and batons. On 20 October 2014, the South African Minister of Home Affairs

Malusi Gigaba Knowledge Malusi Nkanyezi Gigaba (born 30 August 1971) is a South African politician who served as Minister of Home Affairs of the Republic of South Africa appointed by President Cyril Ramaphosa from 27 February 2018 until his resignation on 1 ...

, did an inspection along with the media of the Lindela Repatriation Centre after human rights abuse allegations surfaced in the media. The minister also invited the South African Human Rights Commission to establish an office at the centre so that Human Rights can be monitored on a daily basis. To date the SAHRC have not taken up the offer. The ANC Women's League has shares in the centre.''From 'Foreign Natives' to 'Native Foreigners': Explaining Xenophobia in Post-Apartheid South Africa'',

Michael Neocosmos __NOTOC__ Michael Neocosmos is a Marxist philosopher. He is an emeritus professor in humanities at Rhodes University, Distinguished Visiting Scholar at the University of Connecticut Humanities Institute and a fellow at the Centre for Humanities R ...

, CODESRIA, Dakar, 2010

Notes and references

{{Political history of South Africa Refugees in Africa Human rights abuses in South Africa Society of South Africa Immigration detention centers and prisons