JOHANNESBURG, July 13 — South Africa has processed more than 53,000 foreign nationals for deportation or government-facilitated repatriation as it steps up efforts to manage irregular migration, a senior official said Sunday.
Speaking at a media briefing of the Inter-Ministerial Committee on Migration in Pretoria, Minister of Justice and Constitutional Development Mmamoloko Kubayi said that as of Saturday, 53,449 foreign nationals had been processed for deportation or repatriation.
Malawians accounted for more than 80 percent of the total, followed by Zimbabweans and Mozambicans, said Kubayi, who chairs the committee.
Repatriations to countries outside the Southern African Development Community totaled 2,615, comprising 1,159 Nigerians, 939 Ugandans, 431 Kenyans and 86 nationals of the Republic of the Congo, she said.
Kubayi said the South African government, through various departments, municipalities and public entities, funded most of the repatriation and deportation operations, including transport, security and accommodation costs.
She said the temporary measures introduced to accelerate repatriations were costly and were never intended to be permanent.
More than 20,000 Malawian, Zimbabwean and Mozambican nationals have been repatriated through the Temporary Repatriation Processing Center in Musina, Limpopo Province, according to the committee.
The center was established to speed up the verification and processing of undocumented foreign nationals, facilitate their clearance through the Beitbridge border post and reduce pressure on the Lindela Repatriation Center in Gauteng Province.
Kubayi said the number of people repatriated declined from 4,805 on July 5 to 1,139 on Saturday, prompting discussions on gradually scaling down temporary resources.
She stressed that the reduction would not disrupt ongoing deportation and repatriation operations, as the government remained legally obliged to deport foreign nationals found to have violated the Immigration Act.
Kubayi also warned members of the public against conducting door-to-door searches, checking immigration documents or attempting to remove foreign nationals from communities.
“The management of immigration, border management, deportation and facilitated repatriation is the exclusive responsibility of the state,” she said.
As of July 8, police had registered 205 cases and arrested 350 people over incidents involving unlawful conduct, intimidation, incitement and related offenses. Of these cases, 69 remained under investigation and 112 were before the courts, according to Kubayi.
She said the government would continue to act against criminality, vigilantism, public violence and attempts by individuals or groups to enforce immigration laws themselves.
