Mr. Moussa Mohamed Nzeyimana, an asylum seeker from Burundi was arrested by police in Cape Town city on January 14th because his permit had expired. He was held at a police station behind the College of Cape Town even though the University of Cape Town law clinic issued him a letter explaining why his permit was not renewed in time.
Moussa was released last week and is thankfully fine. Theo added that “this unfortunate incident and many others could be prevented if refugees and asylum seekers were given the opportunity to renew their permits before they expired. So, let’s join our efforts to help them get proper documentation and have their basic human rights respected!”
One volunteer Natasha Sirrieh aged 23 who volunteered at the Projects Abroad Human Rights Office explained “On hearing the news that with our help one of the refugees had finally obtained the sufficient documents to remain in Cape Town, the overwhelming gratification of knowing we had helped someone in need was like nothing I have experienced before.”
