§ 32. Mr. David Steelasked the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs what representations are being made by Her Majesty's Government to the South African Government on behalf of Michael Dingake, a British protected citizen, who has been illegally deported from Rhodesia to South Africa.
§ The Minister of State for Foreign Affairs (Mrs. Eirene White)As soon as we heard about this case, Her Majesty's embassy in Cape Town was instructed to ask the South African Government the reason for the detention of Mr. Dingake. Further representations have subsequently been made at a high level to the South African Department of External Affairs.
§ Mr. SteelHave the protests been made on the basis that this person was deported from Rhodesia to South Africa instead of to his own territory of Bechuanaland, or have they been concerned merely with his present trial in South Africa?
§ Mrs. WhiteThe difficulty about the deportation is that at the time when it took place it was believed, in perfectly good faith, that Mr. Dingake was a South African citizen, and only subsequently was it confirmed that he is a citizen of Bechuanaland.