Contralesa urges Parliament to act after thousands stranded in severe Lebombo border queues

Severe congestion at the Lebombo Border Gate has sparked political pressure, with the Congress of Traditional Leaders of South Africa (Contralesa) calling on Parliament to intervene and hold border authorities accountable.

Contralesa has urged the Portfolio Committee on Home Affairs to summon the Department of Home Affairs and the Border Management Authority (BMA) over what it described as an “embarrassing situation” at the Komatipoort crossing in Mpumalanga, where thousands of travellers have been trapped in queues for days.

The festive-season surge, largely involving Mozambican nationals returning home, overwhelmed border operations and left travellers stranded for extended periods.

South African and Mozambican officials have since engaged in talks aimed at easing the backlog.

Contralesa president, Chief Mathupa Mokoena, said the crisis reflected poor planning and an absence of accountability.

“Those many excuses and the many justifications they are busy giving are really irritating,” Mokoena said.

He said authorities should have anticipated the seasonal spike in cross-border movement.

“It is now apparent that many of the people who have been queuing for the past three days will spend their Christmas days while queuing on the lines,” he said.

“We call upon the relevant portfolio committee to summon the department and the BMA to come and account for this embarrassing situation.”

In response to the mounting pressure, the BMA confirmed it had introduced a manual processing system at Lebombo to speed up border clearances.

BMA Commissioner, Dr Mike Masiapato, said the decision was taken to reduce congestion while managing security risks.

“We are going to continue using the system as it is and we are then also going to implement the manual process, part of the implementation of the manual process but also part of mitigating the risks,” he said.

The manual system applies only to South African and Mozambican nationals, with priority given to women and children in the queues.

The Lebombo impasse comes amid intensified enforcement across South Africa’s borders.

During December 2025, border authorities recorded hundreds of arrests linked to illegal crossings, document fraud and immigration violations, underscoring ongoing operational strain during peak travel periods.

Contralesa said the Lebombo crisis should be a warning sign, insisting that Parliament must demand concrete plans to prevent a repeat of the chaos.

kamogelo.moichela@iol.co.za

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