By Noxolo Sibiya and Lehlohonolo Lehana.
A group of 41 undocumented Mozambique nationals, who were intercepted by the police while on their way to Johannesburg, appeared in the Barberton Magistrate’s Court on Monday.
The driver of a bakkie and two taxi drivers were among those arrested on charges of contravening the Immigration Act, kidnapping, and aiding and abetting.
Mpumalanga Hawks spokesperson Captain Dine Sekgotodi said the arrests came after Crime Intelligence received information about two taxis which were transporting undocumented people from Mozambique to Johannesburg.
“Kaapmuiden SAPS, the Local Criminal Record Centre and Border Police followed up on the information, the taxis were spotted, stopped and searched on the N4 in Kaapmuiden, Mpumalanga,” she added.
Officers found men, teenage girls and women travelling with toddlers, all of whom were said to be without proper documentation.
The male accused will appear in court again on 20 August to get legal aid representatives, while the women and toddlers will remain in custody, and their case was postponed to Tuesday for their ages to be verified and for legal aid to be assigned to them.
The case against the minors was not dealt with, pending the availability of a probation officer and a social worker.
The arrests of the group underscore the growing problem of undocumented foreigners making their way into the country.
The toddlers’ entry into the country also echoes the case of former Miss South Africa contestant Chidimma Adetshina, whose citizenship was probed by the Department of Home Affairs.
The 23-year-old law student withdrew from the Miss SA pageant on Thursday after the Department of Home Affairs revealed that it had found prima facie evidence of fraud and identity theft committed allegedly by Adetshina’s mother.
The department found this after it launched an investigation into her citizenship.
Last year president Cyril Ramaphosa said the government had established a programme to identify undocumented foreigners in the country.
Ramaphosa made the remarks during the ANC 2019 election manifesto review at Dobsonville Stadium in Soweto.
The president at the time said illegal foreigners continue to be a problem for the country.
“We continue to have foreign nationals who do not have documents. A programme has been started to examine who among foreign nationals does not have documents and a number of them are being arrested.”