ABOUT 300 people believed to be Zimbabweans were on
Wednesday arrested around Musina, including the Beitbridge Border Post areas,
for allegedly flouting South African immigration laws, officials in South Africa
have said.
Among those arrested was a suspected human trafficker,
caught with a two-year-old undocumented Zimbabwean toddler during a joint
operation code-named “Basadi”, supervised by Mamane Dickson Masemola, a member
of the executive committee (MEC) in charge of the affairs of the Limpopo
province bordering Zimbabwe.
A joint statement from Masemola – who is the MEC for
Transport and Safety and the Limpopo Province commander of South African Police
Services (Saps), Lieutenant-General Nneke Ledwaba – issued on Wednesday evening
said 295 people had been arrested under the Immigration Act .
It also said Mamane, who sits on a committee of provincial
ministers, participated in operation Basadi, which incorporated stop-and-search
roadblocks, including patrol crime-beats.
“The MEC for Transport and Community Safety, Namane Dickson
Masemola, has today (August 21, 2019) visited Musina in support of the law
enforcement operation, Basadi”, the statement said.
“The on-duty parade was held at the Musina South African
National Defence Force (Sandf) military base and the integrated operation was
conducted until 13:00hrs, covering Musina, the Beitbridge Border Post and
surrounding areas.”
The stop-and-search operation was carried out along all the
major roads, targetting police wanted persons and all unlicensed businesses.
“In total, 373 suspects were arrested for residence and
business burglary, aggravated and common assaults, thefts of and from motor
vehicles,” the statement read.
“Saps units from the lowest to the highest ranks,
constituting female police officers within the environments of Crime
Intelligence, Assets Management, Legal Services, Corporate Communication,
Provincial Support, Vispol, Detectives, Stock Theft, FCS, VCIU, DPCI, CR &
SCM, POCC, ORS, K9, Mounted Unit, the Public Order Police Unit, Beitbridge
Border Gate and cluster commanders of Tzaneen, Seshego, Mahwelereng, Polokwane,
Makhado, Giyani, Modimolle, Lephalale and Thohoyandou, joined forces as they
embarked on law enforcement activities around the border area. During this
operation, Saps women were also joined by other law enforcement partners from
the Provincial and Municipal Traffic and the Sandf.”
Operation Basadi (women), which is ongoing, has a bias to
acknowledge police women and has in some occasions involved Zimbabwean female
cops in operations within the border areas.
Thousands of Zimbabweans are arrested in South Africa on a
daily basis as they flee a free-falling economy which government blames on illegal
sanctions.
The main opposition MDC party, however, points at misrule
and poor management of the economy — coupled with corruption — as the main
undoing of an otherwise promising nation whose citizens now flock to South
Africa where they settle for poorly-paid second-class jobs.
Of late, most cross-border travellers have found themselves
having to jump the border, risking robberies and attacks by wild animals since
Zimbabwe currently does not have enough material to produce passports, with
government only able to produce 800 travel documents per day. Newsday
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