Pressure is mounting on the Department of Home Affairs to halt its planned online asylum-registration process, with opponents launching a petition against the rollout.
Umkhonto weSizwe Party member of the legislature Sphiwe Mbatha has launched an online petition opposing the process. It has already attracted thousands of supporters.
The petition was launched four days ago and aims to secure more than one million signatures. Mbatha said the petition had already garnered 32 000 online signatures by yesterday. In the petition, Mbatha said the public was tired of administrative failures, unresolved backlogs, and being asked to trust another government promise.
"We oppose the proposed online asylum-registration rollout announced on 11 October 2026 and scheduled for implementation by 10 November 2026.
"Before the government introduces another system, it must answer basic questions: Who will verify applicants' identities, and how will fraudulent and duplicate claims be detected? What happens to applications that have already been rejected, and how long will people wait for decisions? Who takes responsibility when the system fails?"
Mbatha said Home Affairs must produce evidence that the platform will improve verification and processing, publish evidence of its readiness, the budget, safeguards, and staff capacity.
"Registering someone online is not the same as deciding whether they qualify for asylum. Moving a queue onto a computer does not, on its own, resolve a backlog. We demand that the department stop the proposed rollout pending public scrutiny and demonstrate operational readiness. Bring the plan before Parliament, publish its legal basis, costs, safeguards, and implementation timetable, and allow public submissions."
He also challenged Home Affairs to explain the registration receipt and the protection it provides, how long it remains valid, and how fraud or misuse will be prevented.
"Anyone who commits a crime must face the law, regardless of nationality. Officials who facilitate fraud must face consequences too. Our anger is directed at the government's failures. Our action is peaceful, organised, and determined. We demand effective border management, credible asylum decisions, and a government that listens and answers."
Mbatha called on the President, the Minister of Home Affairs, and Parliament to respond publicly to these demands before the planned rollout.
March and March spokesperson Sandile Dube said the organisation welcomed the action, which was in line with its vision and objectives.
"This action from the MPL is welcomed," Dube said.
The organisation's legal representatives, SA First Forum, are also opposing the process and have called for South Africans without identity documents to be prioritised.
"We have instructions to demand that you give our client an undertaking that the department will not implement the online system until it has adequately dealt with the unintended consequences associated with it," the organisation said in a letter.
"In light of the seriousness of this matter and its implications, particularly the ramifications it may have for the sovereignty and security of the Republic, we hereby demand that your office provide a written response to the above-mentioned demands. Should we not receive the requested response, we will institute legal proceedings by no later than 21 October 2026."
The letter added that SA First Forum was aware that the department had a responsibility to administer immigration and documentation processes in accordance with the applicable legislation.
"Our clients are deeply concerned that the needs of South African citizens who remain without identity documents, 32 years after the attainment of democracy, do not appear to have received the necessary urgency and prioritisation, while foreign nationals seem to be prioritised by the state. Our instructions are that the department must prioritise the identification and documentation of South African citizens who remain undocumented."
The organisation said it is difficult to reconcile the prioritisation of processing undocumented foreign nationals while millions of South African citizens remain persona non grata in the land of their birth.
"Our clients believe that taxpayers' money should be spent on South Africans, particularly given the high levels of inequality and unemployment."
Attempts to get comment from the Department of Home Affairs were unsuccessful yesterday.