Zimbabweans still flooding South Africa despite tightened patrols

By Tererai Karimakwenda
21 March 2006

South Africa is reported to have started tightening security along its border with Zimbabwe. The crackdown on illegal immigrants, particularly Zimbabweans, has intensified in the past 3 months. But despite all the effort at the entry points and inside the country, Zimbabweans are still lining up in large numbers at the Home Affairs processing centre.

Zimbabwean journalist Steve Paradza, who is based in South Africa, said it takes about 3 to 4 weeks for a response from Home Affairs setting up an interview, and anyone caught in the meantime is returned to Zimbabwe. No papers are given showing that an application has been submitted. Officials from the Limpopo police recently announced on television that they were returning an average of 200 Zimbabweans each day. Paradza estimates that at least 6 roadblocks now exist on the N1 highway, which is a 200 mile long stretch from the Limpopo to Cape Town. It has become much more difficult to get legal status in South Africa.

According to Paradza, the tight security is visible in other ways. He said minibuses going back to Zimbabwe are carrying fewer numbers because people are afraid they will not be able to get back into South Africa. Paradza said the taxi and minibus drivers are now known as the “Homelink” guys, after the government’s failed efforts to collect foreign currency from Zimbabweans in the diaspora. They are used by Zimbabweans to send food, clothing and other scarce items to relatives back home. Paradza said the drivers sometimes wait a couple of days to fill up their seats before making the trip across to Zimbabwe due to the tight security.

The route through Botswana has become more difficult as well due to the large numbers of immigrants now using it as an alternative. Botswana officials have been just as diligent in their search and as we reported earlier this month, the government has even gone further and taken away legal status from thousands of Zimbabweans.

The intense security patrols began just after the Christmas holidays and were aimed at catching the thousands of Zimbabweans who had gone home with the fruits of their labour in South Africa. Those who had already paid bribes to border officials were surprised to find that the deals were not being honoured. Security details were being monitored as cases of corruption had been exposed nationally. Paradza said the search for illegal Zimbabweans has continued to intensify since then and there are patrols on all roads leading from popular entry points.