WATCH | Basotho nationals top list of illegal entrants to SA over festive season

About 38,000 undocumented individuals from Lesotho were intercepted and 2,304 were undesirable, says Border Management Authority commissioner

31 January 2025 - 10:55
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The Border Management Authority facilitated the legitimate movement of more than 5-million travellers across SA's 71 ports of entry this festive period. File photo.
The Border Management Authority facilitated the legitimate movement of more than 5-million travellers across SA's 71 ports of entry this festive period. File photo.
Image: Esa Alexander

Basotho nationals have topped the list of individuals intercepted while attempting to enter South Africa illegally during the festive season, with about 38,000 undocumented individuals recorded.

This forms part of the 58,394 people detected and apprehended, a significant increase compared to the 27,005 interceptions during the 2023/2024 festive period.

Providing an update on the impact of festive season operations on Friday, Border Management Authority (BMA) commissioner Michael Masiapato and home affairs minister Leon Schreiber highlighted the use of drones borrowed from the department of agriculture, land reform & rural development as a key factor in the increase.

Masiapato said the BMA facilitated the legitimate movement of 5,084,251 travellers across SA’s 71 ports of entry during the festive season.

He said of 58,394 intercepted individuals:

  • about 50,312 were undocumented (no documents at all);
  • 6,159 undesirables (found to have overstayed in the country); and
  • 1,923 inadmissible (invalid passport, fraudulent visas, no yellow fever certificates).

“The intercepted individuals were fingerprinted and banned from re-entering SA for five years,” he said.

Masiapato said Basotho nationals led those who were undocumented at about 38,000, followed by Mozambicans at 6,549 and Zimbabweans at 3,067.

Basotho nationals also led those who were undesirable at 2,304. This was followed by Mozambicans at 1,413 and Zimbabweans at 982.

“Undesirables are people who either overstayed before when they came into the country, or they were once intercepted for being in the country illegally. It means we took their fingerprints and in a way banned them for five years. The system will reject them because they are undesirable until the five years is finished,” Masiapato said.

The BMA has stopped and deported 468,000 individuals who attempted to enter SA illegally since July 2022 after the deployment of the first contingent of border guards. 

Working with police,  border guards have arrested about 322 travellers for crimes including possession of stolen vehicles and possession of contraband, drugs and illicit goods, including ferrous and non-ferrous metals. 

Of the 322 arrested travellers, 132 were wanted suspects committing crimes in SA.

“In this festive period, about 19 vehicles, two taxis, one truck and two trailers were intercepted and stopped from being smuggled out of the country. Incrementally the BMA has managed to stop 331 vehicles from being smuggled out of SA from July 2022 to date.”

The legitimate movement of travellers this festive period was less than the pre-Covid 6-million travellers, he added.

Schreiber said the use of drones at five ports of entry on a pilot basis made an immediate and visible impact.

TimesLIVE


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