RSS 2.0 FeedJanuary 2010 Vol 1, National News
Zimbabweans’ passports confiscated at border
Dozens of Zimbabwean travellers trying to enter South Africa at the Beitbridge Border Post have reportedly had their passports confiscated.
Dozens of Zimbabwean travellers trying to enter South Africa at the Beitbridge Border Post have reportedly had their passports confiscated.
Officials on the South African side are clamping down on people who have obtained travel documents in a fraudulent manner.
Zimbabwe’s state-controlled Herald newspaper reported that the Home Affairs Department is trying to weed out people who have obtained South African passports fraudulently.
The blitz is expected to last until mid-January and South African officials are targeting migrant workers on their way back to South Africa after the Christmas break.
Dozens of travellers have had their passports confiscated and are being turned back to Zimbabwe but Zimbabwe’s Assistant Regional Immigration Officer Charles Gwede said they cannot accept travellers without passports.
Some of those affected claim to be South Africans. One man from Limpopo told the Herald he only travelled to Bulawayo for the Christmas break and has hired a lawyer to get his passport back.
