South Africa’s constitutional court has reserved its decision on a request that it order Gauteng province officials to keep open shelters for Zimbabweans and others displaced by xenophobic violence in May, instructing lawyers for the displaced and the government to come up with a plan to close down the camps while assuring the safety and rights of the homeless.

Professor Jonathan Klaasen of the University of Witwatersrand Law School told reporter Sithandekile Mhlanga of VOA's Studio 7 for Zimbabwe that the parties to the action agreed the shelters will remain open until the court has approved their plan to phase out the camps.

Zimbabwean refugee-rights activists hailed the court’s action.

Remember Moyo, chairman of the Zimbabwe Support Action Group, said the agreement will give those driven out of their communities by anti-foreign violence time to regroup.

More reports from VOA'S studio 7 for Zimbabwe ...