Somali man loses refugee status after fraudulent certificate and three-month visit to home country

A Somali man, Ahmed Mohammed Ali, has lost his bid to overturn the withdrawal of his refugee status after traveling to Hargeisa, Somalia, for three months. The South Gauteng High Court in Johannesburg dismissed his application to review and set aside the Standing Committee for Refugee Affairs' decision. Judge Mokate Victor Noko found that Ali had voluntarily re-availed himself of his country's protection during his visit to Hargeisa, which amounted to the withdrawal of his refugee status under the Refugees Act.

Ali, who entered South Africa in 2008 after fleeing persecution by Al-Shabaab, had applied for indefinite refugee status and later for permanent residence. However, the Department of Home Affairs discovered that the fraudulent certificate he obtained led to the rejection of his permanent residence application on July 9, 2018. The authorities initiated proceedings to withdraw his refugee status, citing the fraudulent certificate.

Ali argued that his visit to Hargeisa was not voluntary and that he had neither sought nor obtained effective protection from Somalia. He claimed that Hargeisa was in a "no-man's land", which he referred to as Somaliland. However, the court found that Ali had traveled voluntarily and knew that citizens were protected in Hargeisa, with the city being safe and protected by its citizens.

The court rejected his claim that his three-month stay was not an occasional visit, describing it as opportunistic and indefensible. The court concluded that Ali could be deported to Hargeisa without violating the principle of non-refoulement, as South Africa does not recognize Somaliland as an independent country.