BMA intercepts 500 Zimbabweans attempting to leave South Africa illegally into Botswana
Border Management Authority Commissioner Dr Michael Masiapato says intensified controls at Beitbridge have pushed illegal movements towards Groblers’ Bridge and other border points into Botswana during the festive period.
Image: File/ BMA
As festive travel peaked around Christmas Day, the Border Management Authority (BMA) reported that it intercepted approximately 500 Zimbabwean nationals attempting to leave South Africa illegally while transiting through Botswana.
BMA Commissioner Dr Michael Masiapato told SABC News that the Zimbabwean nationals were intercepted while trying to exit the country unlawfully via the Groblersbrug border post.
Masiapato said that despite a massive influx at the Lebombo port of entry with Mozambique — where about 30,000 people crossed on Christmas Eve — traffic was noticeably lower at the Beitbridge border post with Zimbabwe, where approximately 16,000 people were processed.
“At Beitbridge, when we did 30,000 at Lebombo, they did only around 16,000. You can see that we actually doubled their number,” he said.
He attributed the decrease at Beitbridge to intensified measures along South Africa’s northern border, particularly to curb illegal migration.
“When you look at the kind of measures that we put around our northern border around Beitbridge itself, particularly around illegal migration, we have started seeing the people having drifted into our western border with Botswana,” Masiapato said.
“For instance, just in the past two days, we have been able to intercept over 500 Zimbabweans that were trying to cross into Botswana around Groblers’ Bridge port of entry illegally. All of those people were intercepted and we had to make sure that we bring them back to the port and we process them out for deportation.”
Masiapato said there has been a shift from Beitbridge to Groblers’ Bridge and other border points into Botswana, which he described as an attempt to bypass border control processes.
“So there is a shift out of Beitbridge into Groblers’ Bridge and other ports into Botswana and that is an attempt to at least subvert the processes. So we are aware of that and that is why we proactively deployed even that side to be able to deal with that situation,” he said.
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