South Africa’s (SA) Gauteng High Court’s full bench hearing concerning the detention of prospective asylum seekers has been postponed from October 29 to November 16 to 18, 2026.

The Office of the Chief Justice in a statement states that the postponement has become necessary due to the substantial expansion of the proceedings which comprise 33 urgent applications referred by the Judge President of the Gauteng Division to a Full Court to determine important legal and constitutional questions concerning the detention of undocumented foreign nationals who express an intention to apply for asylum.

This after the Constitutional Court’s unanimous July Judgement in Scalabrini Centre of Cape Town, Western Cape Province, and another one versus the Minister of Home Affairs and others that invalidated parts of the Refugees Act.

The apex court confirmed that detained or undocumented asylum seekers who express an intention to apply for asylum cannot be arbitrarily turned away, penalised for irregular entry, or detained and deported without proper access to the refugee status determination.

Two Judges of the Gauteng High Court reached opposing conclusions on two matters dealing with the same issue.

One ruled that once a detainee expresses an intention to seek asylum, their release from detention must follow immediately so that they can independently access the refugee reception system.

The second Judge, in a different matter involving 21 undocumented nationals detained at the Lindela Repatriation Centre did not release the applicants but ordered Home Affairs to immediately process their asylum interviews.

As a result, Judge Aubrey Ledwaba placed a moratorium on hearing all similar applications in Gauteng until legal certainty is established on whether an asylum seeker who expresses an intention to seek asylum must be released forthwith pending the processing of an asylum application or whether such person may lawfully remain in detention pending the facilitation of access to the asylum process.

–SABC–