Home Affairs Minister Aaron Motsoaledi hopes the deportation of a Lithuanian actress who lied in order to enter SA as an asylum-seeker will deter others from trying to flout the country’s rules.
Ieva Andrejevaite entered SA under a false pretext that she was running from the war in Ukraine so that she can attend a party in Cape Town hosted by billionaire Rob Hersov. Motsoaledi said the party attended by Andrejevaite was also attended by prominent politicians but declined to mention names.
Andrejevaite arrived in SA on April 28 and was deported on June 5.
The national department of home affairs said Andrejevaite was ordered by the Western Cape High Court to leave the country, pay legal costs and apologise for her lies.
Yesterday Motsoaeldi said Andrejevaite and her lawyers had been arrogant in thinking that she should be allowed into the country despite not having a visa. “They think that African countries are banana republics and they can do whatever they like. But we don’t accept that,” he said.
Motsoaeldi said Andrejevaite had arrived in the country on a chartered flight and lied about seeking asylum after she realised that officials would not allow her into the country without a visa. He said Andrejevaite was also listed as a prohibited person in SA, meaning that she could not enter the country within the next 5 years. “Even after 5 years she would have to apply and this does not mean she will gain automatic entry,” he said.
According to her IMDb profile, Andrejevaite is known for her work in her home country and in Russian television. According to the department of home affairs spokesperson, Siya Qoza, Andrejevaite was deported after she tried to abuse the SA’s asylum management laws.
Qoza said the actress was denied entry after she arrived at the Cape Town International Airport in a private jet without a visa.
“After that refusal of entry, she then lied to immigration officials, making up a story of wanting to apply for asylum. As a result of our asylum seeker laws, immigration officials’ hands were tied and they were required to let her into the country so that she could apply for asylum within five (5) days,” the department stated.
Andrejevaite, who has since apologised to the South African government in writing, then failed to apply for asylum and was instead seen on social media partying up a storm in Cape Town hosted by Hersov..
The department said failure to apply for asylum within the prescribed period rendered Andrejevaite an illegal foreigner. She apparently tried to challenge the department in the Western Cape High Court but was instead ordered by the court to apologise after her lies were exposed.
“After being served with the department’s opposing papers, Ms Andrejevaite realised that she had lied to the immigration officials and then to the high court and would face the possibility of criminal charges over and above the consequences and embarrassment stemming from her high court application,” the department said.
In an apology letter addressed to South African citizens, Motsoaledi and employees of the department, Andrejevaite claims that she had no idea that a visa was required to travel to SA.
“I was looking forward to entering SA and enjoying my time here and as such I was wrongly advised to allege that I was an asylum seeker and applied for an asylum transit visa. This was clearly a wrong and unlawful way for me to enter SA,” she stated.
In closing, Andrejevaite said she meant no harm and would love to visit the country again.
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