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The minister called the report, first publicised in the Sunday Times, a "deliberate attempt to twist the facts" and characterised the report as being biased and sensationalist.
Mapisa-Nqakula restated her account of the circumstances that she had reportedly already disclosed.
The Minister stated that for more than two years; a young Burundian national, Michelle Wege who Mapisa-Nqakula referred to as Mimi has been living with her family. Wege reportedly left her home because she was being subjected to abuse at the hands of her father. Wege's mother had committed suicide when she was three years old.
Wege befriended the minister's children during holiday visits between 2013 and 2014 spent with Mapisa-Nqakula's sister, Nosithembele. Nosithembele Mapisa-Shope was serving as the temporary head or chargé d’affaires of the diplomatic mission in Burundi at the time.
Wege reportedly visited Mapisa-Nqakula twice in South Africa in 2013, using a visitor's visa and her Burundian passport. When Mapisa-Nqakula's children returned to Burundi, they allegedly discovered that Wege was living in an abusive environment. Wege expressed a wish to live in South Africa to pursue her studies and live in safety. Her father had initially allowed her to travel to SA but usually kept possession of her passport.
When Mapisa-Nqakula's children were due to leave Burundi; Wege attempted to accompany them but was reportedly prevented from leaving when her father confiscated her passport which still had a valid South African visa. Wege then resolved to seek assistance to obtain papers to leave Burundi.
Wege reportedly approached the United Nations Refugee Agency (UNCHR) who registered her case but were unable to assist her in leaving the country. Mapisa-Nqakula claims that it was on the advice from UNCHR representatives that Wege seek entry into the Democratic Republic of Congo, through the Congolese embassy in Bujumbura.
Wege obtained a temporary Congolese passport under a false name to avoid alerting her father of her escape; intending to enter the Congo and reveal her true identity once she had gone to the South African embassy, where she could be protected. Mapisa-Nqakula admitted that she, in her personal capacity, had written to the South African embassy in the Congo to ask for assistance in obtaining a visa to travel to SA as a refugee.
Wege was arrested in the Congo on suspicion of holding a fraudulent document when she couldn’t speak French or any of the Congolese local languages at the border. She was detained for 10 days.
During this time, the minister stated that she was due to attend the 26th AU summit in Addis Abba. She was also reportedly supposed to meet with her ministerial counterpart in the Congo, in preparation for the summit.
According to Masipa-Nqakula, she asked the Congolese minister how to assist Wege with her plight. Mapisa-Nqakula was informed upon enquiry that Wege had not committed a crime and was able to be released once her circumstances had been clarified.
To avoid Wege's deportation from the DRC back to Burundi, the minister offered to take her to South Africa and to assist her in gaining her lawful travel documents. Mapisa-Nqakula called the report that she had organised a trip in order to illegally smuggle Wege "completely misleading".
Wege reportedly kept a copy of her passport with a South African visa on a memory stick which she used to legally travel with the minister to Addis Abba and return to South Africa. Once Wege was in South Africa she reportedly applied for and obtained a study permit and enrolled at a college in South Africa while living with the minister.
Mapisa-Nqakula described the progress that Wege has made while living with her family and her hope that she would be able to continue her studies in a comfortable and stable environment.
The minister stated, "I have no regrets in the actions that I have taken and my involvement in assisting this child. I would never have been able to live with my conscience if something had happened to her when I knew that I could have done something to help her. I believe it was the right thing to do.”
Mapisa-Nqakula reaffirmed that she had presented the facts of the case to the Sunday Times and expressed her concern that because she was informed at 14:00 that a story was planned to be published the following day.
She said, "The sensational manner in which the report was finally written, is a confirmation of our fears. They had however insisted that they will go ahead with their own story and as a result the interview was granted. The sensational headline for a front page story was however too tempting for them to take the time to verify all the facts that have been given, including contacting the UNHCR, the Immigration departments and Mimi’s family back home. Once again, the truth suffered at the hands of unethical and unprofessional conduct of an enthusiastic reporter yearning for bygone glory. This in violation of the Press Council code.
The minister concluded her statement by saying that she reserves all her rights in seeking recourse on this matter for her, her family, including the protection of Wege from abuse and harassment.
CREDIT: http://www.enca.com/africa/southern-africa/mapisa-nqakula-sets-the-story-straighthttp://www.enca.com/africa/southern-africa/mapisa-nqakula-sets-the-story-straight
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