The Department of Home Affairs (DHA) recently issued a statement defending itself against insinuations of its involvement in a student’s suicide.
Last weekend, PhD student Philip Chuma, said to be a Zimbabwean foreign national, reportedly committed suicide – an incident allegedly linked to the expiration of his study permit.
The University of the Witswatersrand expressed that they can’t register foreign students without a study permit. The student had reportedly been “in regular contact” with the DHA to process the documents, as per News24‘s report.
However, the DHA expressed that it “condemns the insinuation that the tragic death of the said student can be laid at its door.”
Of the statement that the student had been in regular contact with the DHA, spokesperson Siya Qoza has labelled this “misleading and mischievous.”
Qoza went on to say that “the student was not an exemption holder, commonly known as Zimbabwe Exemption Permit (ZEP).”
He further indicated that even if the student were a holder of the ZEP, his permit would’ve been valid until the end of December 2022.
“The student was a holder of a study visa which expired in January 2022. Nothing prevented the said student from registering since September 2021,” he added.
“Furthermore, there was no hurdle for him to register with the University without the involvement of the DHA. Indeed, many foreign students successfully registered at various learning institutions, including Wits University.
“In his case, the process of registering was not dependent on renewal as his study visa was still valid. The student only applied to renew his study visa on 21 April 2022,” Qoza explained.
The DHA has expressed that Wits University owes the public an explanation and that shifting the blame to them is “unhelpful.”
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Picture: Wits