Joburg CBD fire: CoJ says it has no choice but to hand over undocumented foreign nationals to DHA

JOHANNESBURG - The City of Johannesburg said it had no choice but to hand over undocumented foreign nationals who survived the latest building fire in the city centre to the Department of Home Affairs.

The blaze killed four people in a hijacked three-storey building in Jeppestown on Sunday morning.

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Among the hundreds of displaced people were foreign nationals who had expressed their reluctance about going to temporary shelters provided by the municipality.

Johannesburg Mayor Dada Morero said the shelters were open to everyone.

"By law, we are required to ensure the safety of all those affected, and we take them to the right places and profile them from there. On that basis, those who are undocumented and foreign, it’s a matter we hand over to the Department of Home Affairs because it’s not our competence, but it also affects us as the City of Johannesburg."