1 200 Zimbabweans deported from South Africa

SOUTH Africa last week deported more than 1 200 Zimbabweans through Beitbridge Border Post bringing to 35 031 the total number of illegal immigrants brought home since the neighbouring country resumed the exercise last year in October.

The assistant regional immigration manager in charge of Beitbridge Border Post, Mr Charles Gwede, said between Monday and Friday, they handled 1 207 deportees. South Africa resumed the deportation of undocumented Zimbabweans in October last year.

The first group of 261 deportees was brought in from Johannesburg in four buses under the escort of SA Home Affairs officials on 7 October last year.

"We received 1 207 deportees this week who were brought in through Beitbridge Border Post aboard buses. We have so far handled 35 031 deportees since the exercise resumed on 7 October last year. Between 1 January and 24 August, 27 276 Zimbabweans were brought back home," he said.

The latest batch of deportees was brought in aboard seven buses from Lindela Detention Centre outside Johannesburg.

The largest number of deportations was recorded on 5 December last year when 672 Zimbabweans were rounded up in Limpopo and Gauteng provinces.

Mr Gwede said several border jumpers were taking advantage of the drop in water levels in the Limpopo River to illegally cross the border through undesignated entry points.

"We are saying there is a need to intensify border patrols to reduce border jumping. We have realised that of late there has been a sharp increase in the number of people capitalising on the drop in water levels to cross the Limpopo River into South Africa," he said.

Mr Gwede warned people against irregular migration as they risked their lives and prosecution.

"We also would like to warn people against using undesignated entry points as they risk being attacked by robbers who operate in bushy areas along the river," he said.

Mr Gwede expressed concern over the continuous haphazard deportation of ex-convicts, saying it fuelled crime in the border town.

"South African authorities are supposed to deport ex-convicts separately, but sadly we continue to receive them under a mixed batch and that is now a major challenge. They are supposed to be vetted first and then categorised accordingly because most of them end up engaging in criminal activities," he said.

On arrival in the country, the returnees are received by the immigration authorities at the International Organisation for Migration (IOM) Beitbridge Reception and Support Centre who vet them to ascertain whether they are bona fide Zimbabweans. Soon after that process, IOM offers the deportees overnight accommodation, medication, food and transport to proceed to their respective homes.

The IOM centre has capacity to accommodate 600 people at any given time.

However, some of the deportees turn down any form of assistance from the IOM and those who opt to go home using their own means are released. Most of them resort to crossing back to South Africa illegally through undesignated entry points along the crocodile-infested Limpopo River despite the dangers of being attacked by crocodiles or robbers operating in bushy areas near the river.

Since the deportations started, the Department of Immigration at Beitbridge Border Post has been receiving an average of 80 people a day on less busy days with the number increasing to more than 500 mostly on Tuesdays and Thursdays when those from Lindela Detention Centre in Johannesburg would have been cleared for new arrivals.

Deportations are only conducted between Monday and Friday.

Mr Gwede said the majority of deportees were those repatriated from Lindela Holding Centre. The deportations marked the end of an amnesty for illegal Zimbabwean immigrants staying in South Africa which ran from 5 May 2010 to 31 July this year.

Over 275 000 applications from Zimbabweans wishing to regularise their stay in the neighbouring country have been processed while several others were turned down and some are pending.