ABOUT 50 EMASWATI DETAINED IN SA

MBABANE - About 50 locals, who were coming into the country from South Africa, have been detained.

They are now desperate to get out of the Republic of South Africa in time for the Christmas weekend. The now-distressed emaSwati were able to pass into the neighbouring country over the weekend in the  morning, but later got more than what they had bargained for when South African authorities eventually embarked on a crackdown on border jumpers in the afternoon. Most of the detainees are from Sitilo, in Lavumisa and they are now stuck in SA. They are likely to spend Christmas behind bars if they do not pay the stipulated fine, which can go up to E5 000 per individual.

Arrested

The emaSwati were arrested after police officers from the neighboring country demanded to see their immigration documents, which they were not able to produce while in that country. Affected family members spoke about the pain of spending the past weekend raising funds to pay fines for their arrested relatives.
What is even more upsetting, according to the family members, was the fact that all their efforts were in vain, and their loved ones ended up being detained.
“Today is already Wednesday (yesterday) and they are still there. We now do not know what to do. Children are crying back home without their mothers,” lamented a relative to one of the people who have been detained in SA.

Most of the locals who were affected were from doing shopping at the nearby SA town of Pongola ahead of the Christmas weekend, but they may end up not being part of the celebrations with their families after they were rounded up and transported to the Magudu Police Station, where they have been detained since Monday. The sudden turn of events took the dozens of emaSwati by surprise as they were used to a soft approach by the SA security personnel, which they encountered on their regular travels across the borderline for various services.

Several interviewed residents said they were used to crossing over into the neighboring country through the informal crossing at Sitilo, where authorities had never given them problems before. However, they said they were taken aback on Monday when they saw some community members being quizzed as officers searched their bags. It later transpired that the law enforcers had been searching whether they had the relevant immigration papers or not. According to a witness, the crackdown targeted emaSwati who were returning home after doing their shopping in the neighbouring country.

“It came as a surprise as we had all along enjoyed a good relationship with the security personnel stationed there. It appears like new officers were dispatched to the crossing area over the festive season, which has caused problems with the locals who were already used to crossing without being subjected to any checks. This was very unfair to the arrested people,” argued a resident. This publication, in November, reported about over 25 emaSwati who had been detained in South Africa after being nabbed by police officers in the republic without valid travel documents.

The police, acting on an instruction from the Ministry of Home Affairs in South Africa, were arresting and fining foreigners, including emaSwati, without travel documentation. The fine for the illegal immigrants was said to be from E4 000 to E5 000. Among the documentation needed by the police included a valid South African identification card. ENews24 on its online platform shared that emaSwati were being nabbed because they were found without their travel documents and some were nabbed with fake COVID-19 certificates.

Issues

Ministry of Home Affairs Communications Officer Mlandvo Dlamini said even though such issues were dealt with by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation, they had not yet received any information about the detained emaSwati. Dlamini said the issue of informal crossings was a big one and that projects to prevent it were being developed and were underway. Meanwhile, South African Police Services (SAPS) Spokesperson Mavela Masondo confirmed the matter and said there were 50 locals detained in that country. He further said the exercises were ongoing because it was part of their duties.  
“Yes, we have a number of emaSwati who were detained because they could not produce proper documentation of being in that country,” he said when confirming the reports.

An official from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation did not acknowledge receiving a report about the incident. The official said the matter had not been addressed to them and they had not heard anything yet from their SA counterparts.

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