5 highlights from Aaron Motsoaledi’s briefing on refugees in Cape Town 20 April 2021 - 13:20 At the height of the protests, police and refugees clashed in the Cape Town city centre where the refugees had camped outside the UN High Commission for Refugees office before occupying the Central Methodist Church. File photo. Image: Esa Alexander/Sunday Times
Home affairs minister Aaron Motsoaledi on Monday said temporary shelters which housed foreign nationals last year were established under the Disaster Management Act and were aimed at preventing the spread of Covid-19 at the height of lockdown.
The minister was addressing the media about the decision to deport 41 foreign nationals who demanded to be resettled in other countries. They had occupied the Central Methodist Church in the Cape Town CBD in April last year, but some ended up on the streets due to infighting.