Security fears mount as overwhelmed South Africa and Mozambique revert to manual processing at Lebombo
Border Management Authority Commissioner Michael Masiapato, Mpumalanga MEC for Community Safety Jackie Macie and other provincial authorities engage with Mozambican officials during a walkabout at the Lebombo Border Post ahead of peak Christmas Day travel
Image: Border Management Authority
Authorities in South Africa and Mozambique were forced to revert to manual processing at the Lebombo Border Post on Christmas Day, raising serious security concerns as festive-season travel volumes overwhelmed border systems.
The move comes after the Border Management Authority (BMA) confirmed that more than 30,000 travellers were processed at Lebombo in the past 24 hours alone — an unprecedented figure for a land port of entry.
On Christmas Day, BMA Commissioner Michael Masiapato conducted a walkabout at the border alongside Mozambican Interior Minister Paulo Chachine, assessing the crisis as thousands of frustrated travellers waited to be processed.
Masiapato told journalists that he had unsuccessfully attempted to contact Home Affairs Minister Leon Schreiber, but said the decision to revert to manual processing was reached in consultation with Home Affairs Deputy Minister Njabulo Nzuza and senior officials.
Manual processing poses a major security risk, as the electronic system automatically detects wanted criminals flagged by law enforcement agencies, including the South African Police Service (SAPS) and Interpol. The system alerts officials immediately, allowing suspects to be intercepted at the border.
With the electronic system temporarily bypassed, wanted criminals could potentially pass through the border undetected, evading arrest in South Africa.
Masiapato said the processing systems had simply failed to keep up with the sheer volume of travellers.
“Because of the numbers, we are completely struggling to clear everybody. On that basis, the decision which we have put together with the minister (Chachine) here … I have called my Minister Leon Schreiber, but of course I couldn’t get hold of him, I spoke to Deputy Minister Nzuza of Home Affairs in South Africa, and we have also spoken to the Director General of Home Affairs, Mr (Tommy) Makode.
“We have just decided that we are going to do an additional manual processing of all of the travellers here. In simple terms, we are going to bring additional border guards into the offices here, without necessarily using the system, and only process Mozambicans as they are going home of course, some of the South Africans going to Mozambique for holiday or otherwise, to make sure that we process them manually, meaning that we are not going to be using the system.
“What we will be doing, we will be stamping their passports, therefore taking a screenshot of their biographic page into a cellphone. After that we are then going to load them into the system for statistical purposes. So that is basically what we are going to be doing.”
However, Masiapato said the electronic system would continue to be used for travellers of other nationalities entering Mozambique - except for South Africans and Mozambicans.
He added that “due diligence” would be carried out when travellers return from Mozambique to South Africa.
Masiapato said that if the system later alerts authorities that a wanted person was allowed to pass through the border on Christmas Day, law enforcement agencies would have to pursue those individuals.
jonisayi.maromo@iol.co.za
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