Asylum seeker’s eight years in limbo

Ngwene’s application for asylum was rejected on the grounds it was unfounded. The rejection letter filled with grammatical errors and typos states: “Your claim is complete unfounded / your fear is unfounded … In your case there is nothing that indicate that you were /might be subjected to persecution. Persecution has been defined as ‘serious harm’ to the applicant and systematic and discriminatory conduct … You claim that your friend told you there were people you were looking for you and your friend is the son of the soldier. To me there is nothing funny/strange if there is person looking for me.”

The Department of Home Affairs (DHA) lists his nationality on his temporary permit as ‘Congolian’.

Ngwene claims that at the time he applied for asylum there were no interpreters at DHA. He could not read or write English. A fellow Congolese filled in the application for him and did not tell the full story.

He says, “I came to SA because my life was in danger. I worked in intelligence in the military in the province of Matadi.”

He claims he took pictures of the military killing Bedeka people on 31 January and 11 February 2007. He was accused of spying for the enemy. His house was broken into and equipment taken by the authorities.

He insists: “I do have documents and evidence that my life in Congo is under threat. I will present them at my appeal hearing. The officer who rejected my application does not know the reality in Congo. In Congo, one can be arrested for just taking a photograph in public … My life is in danger.”

Ngwene says it took him six months going to the DHA offices before he was served. He applied at the foreshore offices before the offices moved to Nyanga, then to Maitland and then back to foreshore. In 2009, his asylum paper could not be extended because his asylum had a problem of Hit. There were also other refugees with the same problem. He was told to stay at home and wait for a telephone call or a notice to appear before an immigration officer.

Fleeing home

Ngwene says he had a decent and comfortable life before he fled the war in Ituri. He was then studying law at university.

Then his father, Osesamwak Evariste Bunia, was assassinated. He’d worked in the army as a criminal inspector. His father left behind a wife and six children. The family became dispersed: his mother and eldest brother settled in Angola; his one sister in Johannesburg; the other sister in Brazzaville; the last born is hiding at the DRC border post.

He says, “My brother is traumatised by past events. I do not have proper communication with him, but I think with the right treatment he can be okay. I am not able to help him because my situation is also difficult. It’s risky to bring him here. What if he starts walking the streets in his [mental] condition, moreover undocumented?”

“Another issue which still bothers me is my father’s death. We did not see his body. It was taken to the soldiers’ camp and was released six days later for burial. While we were busy burying him, bullets started flying. There was chaos at the graveyard. We ran away without finishing the burial. Since that day, none of the family have been to his grave. Even if I went now, I could not locate it.”

That same night the soldiers cut the electricity to the family house. He then escaped with his two brothers. They later heard that the soldiers had destroyed the family’s home, tortured his sisters and raped his mother. His mother sent them a message never to go back home.

Ngwene claims, “The situation in my country is bad … My mother could not report the rape case to police or anywhere.”

“Victims rarely get counselling, hence a need for psychosocial support besides getting documents.”

Ngwene says church has become his support system. He is trying not to dwell on the past. He says, “Being reminded that a child of God should not be angry for long and reading my Bible helps a lot. I am a changed person. When I came here, I was angry and aggressive.”

Missed opportunities

He asks, “What kind of a society are we living in which deprives people from studying? Since 2007, I have been applying for a university place or scholarship without any success. Now they tell me that the bursary is for people between 22 and 28 only. But when I came in 2007, I qualified. But I was never given the opportunity. I wish scholarships should not be limited to refugees only but also extended to asylum seekers.”

Without documentation, Ngwene has limited opportunities. He once got a good job with a big company in Cape Town, but the company later dropped him when they discovered he was an asylum seeker.

“There are also geniuses among us, but if we are not given opportunities how are we going to be discovered? If I had married and fathered a child when I arrived here, the child would be eight now. I am unmarried … I am on appeal for four years. The situation is hopeless. Many asylum seekers are struggling here. If I cannot do a security job, what kind of job should I do? At the end, I should put food on the table and pay rent,” he said.

Ngwene’s dream is to do a masters degree in law, to reunite his family, and to work towards developing his country. He hopes next year’s presidential elections in the DRC will be peaceful and fair. Then many Congolese will return home, he says.

GroundUp was unable to independently verify Ngwene’s asylum claims with sources in the DRC. GroundUp did however see the necessary documents relating to his asylum process in South Africa as well as some photographs and documentation from the DRC period which he says supports his application for asylum.