§ 15. Mrs. Castleasked the Secretary of State for the Colonies what steps have been taken by the authorities in Basutoland to prevent any repetition of the kidnapping of British protected persons by the South African police.
§ Mr. MaudlingI assume that the hon. Member has in mind the recent abduction of Mr. Anderson Ganyile from Basutoland, but Mr. Ganyile and his companions are in fact South African citizens.
As I told the House on 7th December, 1961, steps are being taken to increase the strength of the Basutoland Mounted Police. Over the past year, there has been an increase of 114.
§ Mrs. CastleI thank the right hon. Gentleman for that Answer, but since there may be an increasing number of incidents of this kind, will he take steps to ensure that registered refugees in the Protectorates are issued with official papers, because these would afford some protection against arbitrary arrest? As he knows, Mr. Ganyile did not, although a registered refugee, have such papers and this made him more vulnerable to the predatory actions of the South African police.
§ Mr. MaudlingI am very anxious to prevent the occurrence of incidents of this kind, and I will examine the hon. Lady's suggestion.