The state has withdrawn its case against about 200 foreign nationals arrested for violating traffic laws, South African Broadcasting Corporation news reported on Wednesday.
The group had been living on the verge of the R28 highway for a week after being transferred from a shelter for xenophobia victims in Glenanda, Johannesburg, to the Lindela repatriation centre in Krugersdorp.
They had refused to register at the Glenanda camp, fearing that the temporary identity cards they would be given would cancel their existing immigration rights.
As a result they were taken to Lindela — a facility which detains foreigners believed to be in the country illegally. But officials discovered that these people were in the country legally and released them to return to their South African homes.
The Department of Home Affairs had validated the documents that allowed them residence in South Africa and said that the refugees were now ”on their own”.
The immigrants stayed on the side of the road, saying they were too scared to return to their communities and would rather be repatriated.
The case was withdrawn in the Krugersdorp District Court on Wednesday.
The state said it would not proceed with the case as the foreign nationals would be dealt with administratively, the SABC reported. – Sapa