been in detention, but a private immigration lawyer, Larry Mzamo, said that the “Majority of people are detained for more than 3 months.”49 . Box #5 ��� Detention over 120 Days Gabriel from Ethiopia and his friend has been locked up in police stations and Lindela for over 6 months. His friend has been accused of faking a marriage so as to get RSA residents permit. This is despite proof of the wedding and related documentation. From Gabriel’s account, the team was able to gather, but not verify, that there are more than 150 Ethiopians currently inside Lindela, all for more than 120 days. Gabriel reported that Ethiopians and other nationalities are supposed to raise airfares on their own. This was corroborated by other detainees. As was the fact that if, after 120 days they have not raised the airfare, authorities at Lindela are alleged to use a Release and Re‐ arrest strategy whereby they take the detainees out of Lindela and drive them to the outskirts of Johannesburg. Upon arrival in Johannesburg, authorities leave them on the side of the road. The SAPS are then waiting nearby to round them up again and re‐arrest them so that the cycle can continue for another 120 days. iii. Length of Detention According to the Immigration Act, no one can be detained longer than 30 days under these provisions without a further warrant of the court (34(1)(d)). The detention can only be made longer by a warrant with good and reasonable grounds, and even then the detention may never last longer than 90 days (Section 34(1)(d)). After someone has been detained for 120 days, they must be released no matter what their official status is. South Gauteng High Court Judge Meyer commented: "A detained person has an absolute right not to be deprived of his freedom for one second longer than necessary by an official who cannot justify his detention.”50 The large proportion of Zimbabwean respondents made accurately quantifying the number of detainees kept for longer than 120 days very difficult. Zimbabweans, for the most part, are not housed as long as detainees from other nationalities because of the proximity to Zimbabwe. Deporting to Zimbabwe can be done by road or rail, whereas deporting to the DRC or Somalia requires travel by air, which is far more expensive. This is why, the majority of detainees who have been in Lindela for more than 120 days, are not from Zimbabwe. Thus, a disproportionate number of Zimbabweans affects the accuracy of this quantitative data. However, qualitatively, we interviewed detainees, relatives and immigration lawyers who all reported detention over 120 days being very common. iv. Release and Re-arrest Cycle There were also reports from both the legal fraternity, and detainees, of a 120 day release and re-arrest cycle. While they refer to it as such, they simply explained that detainees held for longer than 120 days are released, usually in fairly remote locations, 49 Taken from Interview with Researcher 50 Silva v Minister of Safety and Security 1997 (4) SA 657 (W), at p 661 – H. See http://www.saflii.org/za/cases/ZAGPJHC/2010/59.html 31