IOL : 'Couple's bid to stay in SA dishonest'

'Couple's bid to stay in SA dishonest'

Xolani Mbanjwa | August 17, 2007

Claims by the father of a London terror suspect that his "illegal" deportation back to the United Kingdom would lead to his detention in that country because he belongs to the same organisation as his son are "defamatory and without basis".

This statement was contained in an opposing affidavit filed by lawyers for Minister of Home Affairs Nosiviwe Mapisa-Nqakula at the Pretoria high court on Thursday.

This follows last week's urgent interdict granted to Mohammed Patel and his wife, Sukina.

They opposed their proposed deportation to the UK.

Patel was arrested on August 3 and detained at the Lindela Repatriation Centre to await his deportation as an illegal immigrant.


At the time of his arrest, Patel worked as a backyard mechanic and lived in Brixton, Johannesburg.

Appearing for the department, attorney Mike Bofilatos, filed an opposing affidavit in which acting director-general of the Home Affairs immigration branch, Yusuf Simons, said that when the department began investigating Patel, it was not aware that Patel's son had been linked to the London bombings or that the family had been linked to "so-called terror activities".

Patel's son, Abdul Muneem Patel, 18, is the youngest of the 11 men charged last August in connection with foiled plans to bomb UK and US aircraft.

According to Home Affairs records, Patel first entered South Africa from India on May 24 2004, using a passport from an unknown country.

He left for London on June 22 2004 and upon his return to South Africa via Amsterdam, Patel secured a "normal" visitor's permit, valid for three months until August 28 2004.

Patel was granted a two-year extension until September 14 2006 by the department to take up a position as a financial manager at a company called Tinissa 12 CC.

On November 8 2006 he was granted a further two-year extension to his residence permit until September 30 2008 "to take up employment with Tinissa".

The department claims that "both applications are tainted with massive fraud and the second extension was obtained after the first extension had expired".

Such an extension is in breach of the Immigration Act.

The department says Patel used fraudulent documentation and that he was not employed at Tinissa in the UK, from where he claims to have been transferred.

Patel allegedly also forged a bachelor of accounting services degree from the University of Pretoria that belonged to a Zimbabwean student.

Bofilatos told Pretoria high court judge Roger Classen that the couple's stay in South Africa "is one tainted with dishonesty and fraud of the highest degree" and that chances of their applications succeeding were minimal.

The case stood down until Monday.