Exiles lash out as SA plans to redeploy army border patrols
By Alex Bell
29 July 2009

The Zimbabwe Exiles Forum (ZEF) has lashed out at the South African government’s plan to redeploy the army to patrol the border with Zimbabwe, saying the move will pose a serious risk to Zimbabwean exiles still fleeing the country.

The proposed move follows a recent tour of South Africa’s borders with Lesotho and Zimbabwe by members of the country’s main opposition, the Democratic Alliance (DA). The DA officials found that large stretches of the border fencing had been stolen, flattened or cut open. They also found an almost complete absence of police officers, who are supposed to guard the borders. The officials expressed concern about the movement of criminal syndicates over the unguarded borders, as well as the threats of poachers and disease already causing problems for South African farmers. The party, shortly after the visit, called for a concrete plan to deploy the South African National Defence Force (SANDF) to protect the borders.

The Minister of Defence and Veteran Affairs Lindiwe Sisulu already agreed in principle in Parliament last month that the SANDF should be deployed back to the borders as part of a wider scheme to tackle crime by releasing policemen and women from border duty. It followed the announcement by President Jacob Zuma in his State of the Nation speech last month that among other key initiatives to fight crime, ‘we will start the process of setting up a border management agency.’

The military was pulled out of border patrol last year after civil society groups such as the Exiles Forum reported numerous accounts of rape and torture of refugees at the border. ZEF Director Gabriel Shumba said on Wednesday that army officials ‘are not properly equipped in terms of human rights to deal with the sensitive issue of immigrants,’ arguing that redeploying the army so soon will create more problems.

Shumba argued the move echoes a worrying trend by the new administration under President Zuma of, ‘stricter and less tolerant controls on the Zimbabwean populace in South Africa.’ Shumba explained new discussions are underway to reverse a widely welcomed plan to provide special permits for Zimbabwe, saying the South African government has a wrong perception about what is happening in Zimbabwe. The permits, which have now been placed on hold by the government, would give Zimbabweans rights to education, health care and rights to work for a period of 6 months.

“The Zuma administration has this perception that Zimbabwe’s government of national unity has managed to contain the situation, and that everything has stabilised,” Shumba explained. He continued: “The changing attitude and policies are increasing our vulnerability in the country.”

Shumba referred to last week’s incident of xenophobic violence in South Africa that President Zuma dismissed as part of widespread service delivery protests in the country. Last year, a violent spate of xenophobic attacks left more than 60 people dead, and rights groups have warned that fresh attacks are likely to occur.