South African man deported from Tipperary despite being 'integrated completely' into Ireland

Guthrie Ward, who had been living in Tipperary, was put on a flight to Johannesburg on Saturday along with 62 others, including nine children

The Department of Justice said it was the eighth charter operation since the recommencement of charter flights to effect removals and deportation orders in 2025. File picture Chani Anderson

A South African man, who had "integrated completely" to Ireland, after living in direct provision accommodation for almost six years before moving to Tipperary Town, was deported over the weekend. 

He had to sign on monthly at the Garda National Immigration Bureau office in Dublin to notify the State of his whereabouts, and was arrested when he went to the office on February 12. He was held in Cloverfield Prison before, along  with more than 60 other people, he was deported on a flight to Johannesburg on Saturday.

His friends only found out he was in prison awaiting deportation after filing a missing persons report for him.

Guthrie Ward said he had “integrated completely” into Ireland and hoped to be able to return. 

Speaking from Durban, he said he was fearful for his safety in South Africa. It had been designated a safe country under Ireland’s International Protection Act 2015 (Safe Countries of Origin) Order 2018.

Mr Ward said: “You have to take precautions all the time, you have to be alert all the time. It is not a very nice place to live in — it is a beautiful country to live in but because of the political situation, it is not safe.” 

Mr Ward was attacked by three people an hour after he had intervened in an attack on a woman in Cape Town in 2017.

Feeling unsafe in South Africa, he travelled to Ireland. Six months after his arrival, a relative was shot dead in an armed robbery at his home near Pretoria.

Though he has no criminal conviction, he said these incidents did not help him in his bid for asylum. 

He secured a Stamp 4 immigration permit in 2022, allowing him to live and work in Ireland without an employment permit. Months later, he was told he didn’t qualify and it was rescinded. “We appealed that but the decision was upheld.” 

Mr Ward and his legal team launched a judicial review of that decision in June 2024 but it has not been concluded.

“I was on a deportation order from December 2023,” he said.

At that time, he was living in direct provision in Waterford and working full time in a service station in Tramore.

He spent almost six years in direct provision but moved to Tipperary Town after having to vacate direct provision after the failure of his appeal of the Stamp 4 decision.

He said: “I found a flat in Tipperary and used all my savings to pay for that.” 

Each month, he had to go to the Garda National Immigration Bureau office in Dublin to be in compliance with the requirements of his deportation order.

He was arrested when he went to the office on February 12.

“I complied with every single thing that the Government required of me but on January 15, they re-fingerprinted me and took some additional information and let me go. But on February 12, they did the same kind of thing and that was when they arrested me.” 

His friend Clifton Sherrard, who he met through the Ex-Pats in Waterford group, is dealing with shipping Guthrie’s belongings to him in South Africa.

Mr Sherrard said: “We had absolutely no contact until we finally learned from the guards that he had been picked up when he was signing on and that was on [Sunday, February 15], after being worried from the Thursday.”

“It was only when we put in a missing persons report on the Sunday with gardaí in Waterford that they contacted immigration and confirmed that he had been detained."

His deportation on Saturday, along with 62 others, including nine children, was on the second charter operation this year.

The Department of Justice said it was the eighth charter operation since the recommencement of charter flights to effect removals and deportation orders in 2025.

Justice minister Jim O’Callaghan said: “Without effective enforcement measures, our immigration laws would be undermined, and I want to ensure that there is public confidence in the application of our laws in this area. If a person does not have a legal permission to be in the State, or has been involved in criminality, they will be removed. 

"I would like to thank the members of An Garda Síochána and officials from my department for their continued hard work in conducting these complex operations."