28 January 2010, 18:01

Police were forced to intervene at the Lindela Repatriation Centre near Krugersdorp on Thursday after an altercation broke out between foreign nationals and security guards, the department of home affairs said on Thursday.

Spokeswoman Siobhan McCarthy said one person was injured by a rubber bullet - a warning shot fired by police - while other foreigners were beaten with batons by the security guards.

McCarthy said the group of foreigners was upset at not being deported to Nigeria on Wednesday.

This was because a landing license was not secured, said McCarthy.

Four people reportedly sustained severe injuries.

"The service provider is now trying to secure landing rights in Nigeria. There was also consultation today [Thursday] to explain to the detainees why they had not been deported," she said.

The detainees were also disgruntled because a security guard arrived late to unlock the entrance to the kitchen.

McCarthy said this may have contributed to the situation turning violent.

"I can safely confirm that there was some shooting at Lindela following some provocation by detainees. We have a total of 2050 people in [the whole facility] Lindela, who are currently waiting to be vetted and deported," said McCarthy.

They were from Zimbabwes, China, the Congo, Somalia, Ethiopia and India.

She said the detainees were being sent home for different reasons.

Some had come to South Africa with no valid passports or fraudulent documents, some did not have papers at all while others had transgressed the law.

However, detainee Tony Olaale, from Nigeria, dismissed the government's claims as "untrue", "baseless" and "unsubstantiated".

"We have right papers with valid visa passports. I suspect that there is always a conspiracy against Nigerians. We have done nothing wrong to warrant us detained at Lindela.

"This is purely xenophobia. I am calling upon the powers that be to investigate Lindela as a matter of urgency," he said.

Holberook Smith said he was detained with his three-month-old daughter and three-year-old son.

"We have international passports, and I don't see why we are persecuted just like this. We been told that foreigners have no rights here, and this is highest if not worst forms of xenophobia," he said.

"I have been here at Lindela for two months now, but surprisingly they (officials) are not deporting us. Why?," asked Smith.

McCarthy acknowledged that it should not take two months to vet and deport people, but said the department needed to ensure that all foreigners were returned to their country of origin with the correct documentation. - Sapa