JOHANNESBURG, Oct. 9 (Xinhua) -- South Africa's Department of Home Affairs on Friday withdrew a directive instructing its Refugee Reception Offices to process asylum applications following a Constitutional Court ruling, amid violent anti-migrant protests in Johannesburg and Durban on Thursday.
In a statement, the department said Director-General Livhuwani Tommy Makhode had withdrawn the directive issued on Sept. 28 concerning the intake of asylum seeker applications following the Constitutional Court's July 7 judgment in the Scalabrini of Cape Town case.
The department said that implementing the ruling had "immediately led to serious consequences" that the court order could not have foreseen, adding that within days, refugee offices were overwhelmed, officials were placed at risk, and serious threats to public safety and order emerged.
It stressed that the directive was "a purely operational attempt to support the implementation of the Court's order" without the knowledge of the Home Affairs Minister or any other political office-bearer, rejecting claims that the decision was politically motivated.
The department said it would start a fresh process to find an appropriate and sustainable way to comply with the court's order. It also reaffirmed its respect for the judiciary and the rule of law.
The withdrawal came after violent protests on Thursday in Johannesburg's Soweto township and Durban, where demonstrators opposed the processing of asylum applications and demanded tougher action against irregular migration.
South African police said 10 vehicles were torched in Soweto and another 14 in Durban during the unrest. Foreign-owned shops were also looted, while three foreign nationals were arrested in Durban, according to police. ■