- An Ethiopian asylum seeker who does not speak English claims he was tricked into paying a fine to plead guilty by senior immigration officials who thought he was paying bail.
- Two Western Cape High Court judges condemned the officer's “deplorable” conduct, suspended the fine and ordered the immigration officer removed from the case.
- Tsegei Eshas claims Anneliese van Dijk treated her like an animal, which led to her attempted suicide in police custody.
A senior immigration official has been criticized for his “deplorable” conduct in handling the case of an Ethiopian national who attempted suicide after being tricked into confessing to having entered South Africa illegally, according to GroundUp.
Western Cape High Court Judges James Lekreni and Patricia Goliath suspended Mr Tsegay Esyasu's admission of guilt for the fine he paid and ordered him to pay back R1000.
They sent the case back to Paarl Magistrates' Court, ordered a “fair hearing” before another judge with a competent interpreter, and ordered immigration officer Anneliese van Dijk removed from the case.
“This type of conduct by a government official is repugnant and contrary to the doctrines and attributes expected of a person in that position and the principles of Bato Pele,” the judges said.
Mr Esyas has launched an urgent application to set aside his admission of the guilty fine, which he paid on April 10 this year.
The documents were served on the magistrate and Van Dyke who had originally heard his case, but they did not oppose the application, so Esyas' explanation was not challenged.
Read the judgment here.
Lekreni, who wrote the judgment, said Esyas is an Ethiopian national and does not speak English.
He arrived in South Africa earlier this year after fleeing his country of birth due to political unrest.
Eshas came to seek asylum and live with his two brothers and other family members, all of whom were officially recorded.
In his affidavit, he described his attempts to begin the process of obtaining his own documents.
Eshas said the first time he was kicked out was because the system was offline.
He returned a few days later and was told that only the first 24 asylum seekers would be attended to each day.
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The next day, Esyas slept on the sidewalk outside his office to join the first 24 people. However, all were refused participation due to baggage restrictions.
During that time, he got a job as a “cashier operator” at a store.
Before Eshas could return to immigration for the fourth time, he and his employer were arrested.
He appeared in court, but the case was adjourned for about a week for an interpreter. When he appeared in court again on April 10, he still had no interpreter.
Esyas said he had no idea what was going on, but the case seemed to be progressing.
“I was clearly misunderstood.”
He added that Van Dyke approached the family outside the courtroom and asked if they had money to pay bail, which his brother confirmed.
She then instructed her brother to remain outside the courtroom.
His brother then accompanied a police officer to a safe and paid R1,000, believing it was bail money.
However, when he returned to court with the receipt, he was told that Van Dyke had removed Esyas and that he would remain in custody.
Officers said the money was a guilty plea, not a bail bond, and Van Dyke could remain in custody pending deportation.
Her family believed she had been “blatantly misled”.
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Eshas said Van Dyke took him from his cell and took him to her office, where she was “very hostile and racist towards him” and treated him like an animal. He allegedly treated her in a similar manner and tried to force her to sign documents she did not understand.
Lekreni said:
Once back in police custody, the applicant felt he had no other choice. He believed his life was not worth living, as it meant he would be detained until he was deported to politically unstable Ethiopia.
“There was no one to listen to his plight. He tried to hang himself. However, law enforcement officials caught him attempting suicide and he was subsequently moved to an isolated cell and placed on suicide watch. “It was placed in,'' he added.
However, Van Dyke continued to insist that he sign the documents.
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“The applicant's solicitor of record also spoke with police officers at Paarl Police Station and confirmed that Mr Van Dijk's actions were a normal occurrence.
“He was informed that she was treating people in this way to intimidate and degrade them,” Lekreni said.
He added that it was difficult to understand on what basis the magistrate was convinced that Mr Esyas had pleaded guilty, as he could not understand the proceedings or communicate with the court. He said this was “highly irregular”.
Lekreni said:
There is no dispute that the applicant was unable to understand the procedure because it was not explained to him in a language he understood. In my view, this misconduct is so egregious that it undermines the entire legal process.
As for Ms Van Dyke, she added that the allegations against her were “very egregious” and that it was surprising that they had never been challenged.
“As the applicant explained, her conduct was deplorable and should be condemned.
“It is alleged that she treated the applicant in a derogatory and inhumane manner so severe that it led to the applicant attempting suicide.
“It has also been suggested that she may have done this to coerce migrants into signing documents…In my opinion, Ms van Dijk needs to be warned to desist from such unacceptable behavior. “There is,” Lekreni said.