McKenzie applauds crackdown on undocumented foreign nationals

Mckenzie

Cape Town — Minister of Sports, Arts and Culture, Gayton McKenzie, has praised the government for cracking down on undocumented foreign workers in the restaurant industry.

McKenzie has often been outspoken about sending illegal immigrants back to their countries and was full of praise for the Department of Home Affairs and Department of Employment and Labour for the raids conducted in Gauteng, targeting those who have violated labour laws, TimesLIVE reported.

He took to X and said the raids have been done to make sure that people are not here in South Africa illegally, and that the Government of National Unity (GNU) want laws to be respected by all.

“All these raids, all this new energy in making sure companies don’t hire people that are illegally in SA, and provinces upping the fight against illegal foreigners should tell everyone that it is no longer business as usual. The GNU wants the laws of this country to be respected by all,” McKenzie said.

In another post, he said the GNU was not about vibes, but about ‘fixing South Africa’.

“We are not in GNU for vibes; we are fighting for what we believe in. We are listening to opposing views, and we differ respectfully. I was pleasantly shocked when I heard Gwede Mantashe eloquently put the case against hiring illegal foreigners in restaurants and elsewhere. We will fix SA,” he added.

McKenzie’s words come after three foreign nationals, who were allegedly employed at Babel and Ocean Basket restaurant in Menlyn Mall, were arrested and appeared in court this week, IOL reported.

The National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) confirmed that Emery Niyomuremyi, 35, from Burundi; Amina Lameck, 34, from Malawi; and Kelechi Maduike, 38, from Nigeria, appeared in the Hatfield Magistrate’s Court.

NPA spokesperson, Lumka Mahanjana, said Lameck and Maduike worked at Babel as a chef and stock manager respectively, while Niyomuremnyi worked as a s delivery man for Ocean Basket.

Mahanjana said the trio were arrested on Sunday evening (September 15) at the restaurants by the home affairs department after they conducted a raid at both restaurants.

“This came after a video was circulated on TikTok by a disgruntled Babel former employee expressing her dissatisfaction regarding her employer’s treatment and alleging that the restaurant is violating the Labour Relations Act.”

The manager of Babel restaurant, Raui Kobeissi, 42, who was also arrested with the three, was released at the Brooklyn Police Station after he paid a R10 000 admission of guilt fine, the NPA said.

@molly_bave Thank you for all the support with regards to the Babel restaurant situation and I’ll try to respond to most comments in due time 🙏🏾🤍 thank you especially to @EFFSouthAfrica ❤️🖤 #fypシ゚ #SAMA28 #babel #mistreatment ♬ original sound – molly

Picture: X/@GaytonMck

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Compiled by Matthew Petersen

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