By Lehlohonolo Lehana.
An investigation is currently underway after a bus passed through the Beitbridge Border Post, which was later intercepted in Bloemfontein, carrying 32 undocumented foreign nationals.
Border Management Authority (BMA) Commissioner Michael Masiapato Commissioner Mike Masiapato confirmed the bus was properly processed at Beitbridge.
Masiapato said the bus en route from Zimbabwe to Cape Town, was stopped in Bloemfontein on Friday, 3 April 2026, during an operation by the Free State Department of Community Safety, Roads and Transport.
Authorities discovered that, in addition to 43 passengers who had been properly processed at Beitbridge, the bus was carrying 32 foreign nationals without valid documentation.
Masiapato emphasised that engagements with cross-border operators over the past year had largely prevented such occurrences.
“We had conversations with all the cross-border operators, buses in particular.”
“We engaged with the CEOs, we engaged with the owners, and we basically said to them, ‘no one must ferry people without documentation’.”
“I think you will be aware that we have done that work very extensively during the past year until this point and since we had those conversations, we never necessarily had any of this incident, which just happened,” he said.
Masiapato said, he is unable to confirm where and how the undocumented passengers boarded the bus, however, a “full investigation” is underway.
Parliament has since called for Rimbi Travel and Tours, a licensed cross-border transport company linked to the bus, be suspended while a full investigation is conducted.
The Department of Home Affairs meanwhile published its revised draft White Paper on Citizenship, Immigration and Refugee Protection (White Paper).
The revised draft White Paper reframes citizenship and immigration as both an economic enabler and a security and public interest function. The reforms proposed by the White Paper are designed to be constitutionally sound and operationally modern, using digital systems to improve both security and service efficiency.
The revised draft White Paper is also aimed at South Africa transitioning from a basic National Population Register to an Intelligent Population Register (IPR), with biometrics for all who live in South Africa. The IPR will then form the foundation for a National Digital ID and civil registration without conferring citizenship status on individuals.
Meanwhile over 2,400 vehicles per hour were recorded on the N1 highway heading towards Gauteng, with significant congestion and reports of reckless driving near toll plazas.
Traffic authorities observed high volumes on major routes as holidaymakers returned, leading to increased safety concerns and delays, particularly around the Kranskop toll plaza.