By Charmaine Ndlela
More than 13,000 foreign nationals have been repatriated or deported through Beitbridge and OR Tambo International Airport in the past five days, according to Border Management Authority (BMA) Commissioner Dr Michael Masiapato.
Anti-illegal immigration mobilisation continues across the country ahead of 30 June, a date declared by activist groups including March and March as a “deadline” for undocumented foreign nationals to leave South Africa.
March and March founder Jacinta Ngobese-Zuma is expected to address the media in Johannesburg on Wednesday.
Masiapato told the SABC that about 9,000 Malawian nationals and 3,000 Zimbabwean nationals had been processed through Beitbridge Border Post. At the same time, a further 900 Ghanaians and 300 Nigerians were repatriated through OR Tambo International Airport.
He said the N1 corridor leading to Beitbridge and the N4 corridor towards the Lebombo Border Post remained the primary routes being used in the operations.
“Over the past five days, we have facilitated the movement of around 9,000 Malawians through Beitbridge. These include individuals repatriated through arrangements made by their government, as well as those deported through processes facilitated by the Department of Home Affairs,” he said.
Masiapato also said authorities had intercepted about 4,300 people attempting to enter South Africa illegally since President Cyril Ramaphosa announced an enhanced migration enforcement plan on 7 June, including stronger border controls, intensified deportations and law-enforcement coordination.
The Department of Home Affairs has separately said 9,488 foreign nationals have been repatriated or deported from the Durban Drive-In site, where thousands of people had gathered seeking assistance to return to their countries, after first gathering in the Sherwood area.
According to Home Affairs, an estimated 7,000 people remain at the site, although additional individuals continue to arrive as verification and processing operations continue.
Minister of Home Affairs Leon Schreiber confirmed that Malawian nationals who had been stranded at Newlands in Johannesburg had been repatriated following government intervention.
He also confirmed that 657 foreign nationals who had been staying at the Mayor’s Walk site in Pietermaritzburg had been repatriated from the condemned government building in where they continued to shelter.
“Home Affairs and the IMC continue to collaborate with colleagues across all spheres of government to ensure a well-managed process, while reaffirming that no person may engage in violence, incitement or infringe on the dignity of any other human being,” Schreiber said.
The repatriation and deportation operations come as government ramps up security preparations for 30 June.
Acting Police Minister Firoz Cachalia has said law enforcement agencies are prepared to respond to any violence, intimidation or unrest linked to the planned demonstrations.
Cachalia said the police operation would cost more than R600 million as police, defence and intelligence structures coordinate a nationwide response.
Speaking after meeting Defence Minister Angie Motshekga in Johannesburg on Monday, Cachalia stressed that June 30 must remain a normal working day and warned that no group would be allowed to take the law into its own hands.
Government has maintained that illegal immigration must be addressed through lawful enforcement processes and not through violence or vigilante action.
Police in the Free State have also said they are prepared for any developments arising from the planned demonstrations.
In KwaZulu-Natal, police have identified eThekwini and uMgungundlovu as areas of concern ahead of the planned action, while law-enforcement authorities have also dealt with recent unrest and looting incidents linked to anti-immigrant mobilisation in Estcourt.
KZN police are still investigating the murder of a man in Pietermaritzburg last week in the Jika Joe informal settlement, where hundreds of Malawian nationals had gathered seeking repatriation because of the xenophobic violence. A local councillor identified the victim as a 29-year-old Malawian national.
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