City Press writes that it has learnt that on Thursday immigration officials arrested SA Transport and Allied Workers’ Union (Satawu) general secretary Zenzo Mahlangu and deported him to Zimbabwe.  

This was after a Department of Home Affairs (DHA) investigation into his nationality revealed he was living in South Africa without the necessary permits.  DHA spokesperson David Hlabane confirmed that Mahlangu had been deported on the same day he had been arrested (4 May) and that “he chose not to exercise his right to challenge the deportation, but opted to purchase his own flight ticket and depart immediately instead of being deported through Lindela.”  An investigation of a tip-off apparently revealed that Mahlangu was in possession of a SA identity document acquired through misrepresentation.  Despite Hlabane’s confirmation, Satawu’s spokesperson remained adamant on Friday that Mahlangu was still in the country and had not been arrested or deported.  Mahlangu broke ranks with labour federation Cosatu recently, announcing that Satawu would not endorse Deputy President Cyril Ramaphosa as the next ANC leader

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