JOHANNESBURG – The Border Management Authority (BMA) said that one of its biggest challenges policing South Africa’s borders was repeat offenders illegally attempting to enter the country.
At least 400 people have been arrested and deported back to Zimbabwe following a three-day operation at the Beitbridge border.
Close to 50,000 people have reportedly re-entered South Africa from Zimbabwe via the country’s busiest border in the new year.
Border Management Authority head, Commissioner Michael Masiapato, said that they were constantly re-arresting people trying to enter South Africa illegally.
“It is a very sad and vicious cycle because there are people we will intercept early in the morning, arrest them, process them and get them deported – and we arrest the same person in the afternoon, so that is the biggest challenge.”
He said that very little deterred those who were hellbent on illegally entering the country.
“Sometimes, we will even arrest somebody on the borderline, get them deported, and they will go further down into the borderline, then they get intercepted in the corridor, along one of the three roadblocks set on the N1 corridor.”
He said that the majority of those returning or entering the country from Zimbabwe would likely do so this weekend.