By Johannah Malogadihlare
Almost 60,000 illegal immigrants were stopped from trying to enter South Africa during the festive season.
Home Affairs Minister Leon Schreiber said this was an increase of over 200% from the previous period.
He was speaking during a briefing with Border Management Authority commissioner Michael Masipato on the 2024/25 festive season report.
SA has managed to stop and deport a total of 468,000 individuals who attempted to enter South Africa illegally since 2022.
The BMA, which significantly ramped up operations over the holidays, said the number of movement recorded between 6 December and 18 January was still less than the pre-Covid number of about six million travellers.
“The BMA facilitated the legitimate movement of about 5,084,251 travellers across our 71 ports of entry in this festive period. This number represents an increase of 51, 680 travellers compared to the 2023/2024 festive period,” Masipato confirmed.
OR Tambo International Airport facilitated a
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