As the festive season draws near, the Border Management Authority (BMA) in South Africa says it has intensified its festive season border crackdown, with Eswatini nationals ranking fourth among illegal migrants arrested while using informal crossings.
In a live broadcast by the eNCA news publication, BMA Commissioner Dr Michael Masiapato announced the festive season law enforcement operations and outlined security arrangements for the busy 2025/26 holiday period.
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He said that during the festive season, the BMA would heighten its operations across its 71 ports of entry, which include 52 land borders, ten airports and nine seaports, as it anticipates increased movement of travellers.
Masiapato added that the planning phase, which began in September, was characterised by extensive consultative engagements with multiple stakeholders in both the public and private sectors.
He also provided a report on the BMA’s work during the second quarter of the 2025/26 financial year, highlighting movement patterns of people and goods across ports of entry.
Masiapato said that with the help of surveillance technology, particularly drones, they were able to apprehend about 8 135 individuals who attempted to enter South Africa through illegal entry points or other segments of the borderline during the second quarter. Of those apprehended, 4 092 were undocumented, 2 061 were found inadmissible and 1 982 were classified as undesirables. He said that historical empirical data showed that the majority of intercepted individuals in that period were Basotho nationals, followed by Mozambicans, Zimbabweans and Swati nationals.
3 border posts extend hours for festive season
Good news for travellers who will be travelling to and from South Africa, as operating hours for three border posts will be extended this festive season.
These include; Mananga, Matsamo and Mahamba Border Posts, as announced by the South African Border Management Authority’s (BMA) Commissioner Dr Michael Masiapato yesterday when unpacking the authority’s operation plan for the festive season. He said the two-phased festive operation will commence on December 10 until January 15.
The BMA, an authority responsible for facilitating and managing people and goods coming in and out of South Africa’s ports, will ensure that the ports of entry were not exploited by any form of violence and criminal activities, including human trafficking, smuggling and illicit goods.
The commissioner said in preparation for the busy festive season, the BMA engaged in intensive inter-jurisdictional discussions with South Africa’s six immediate neighbouring countries, namely; Eswatini, Lesotho, Botswana, Zimbabwe, Namibia and Mozambique, which had agreed to adjust operating hours at key ports of entry that did not operate for 24 hours.
Border searches to be strict
In the wake of diseases, the Border Management Authority (BMA) has announced strict border searches on travellers entering the Republic of South Africa during the festive season.
Dr Michael Masiapato said inbound travellers will be screened upon entry into the republic to avoid the importation of communicable diseases into that country. He advised that travellers who present any signs of illness should report to the BMA port health team members on arrival.
The commissioner added that travellers from yellow-fever endemic countries will be expected to produce a yellow fever vaccination certificate at the ports of entry and failure to present this would result in them being denied entry into South Africa.
In terms of importing agricultural products into the republic, Dr Masiapato said the only products that will be allowed would be those that comply with the phytosanitary rules for plants, and the strict compliance with health, safety and quality standards set by the department of agriculture (DALRRD) for meat, fruits and vegetables.
He said in the event travellers do not produce permits authorising them to import these products, the items would be confiscated and destroyed. “To ensure compliance, the BMA teams will search luggage using sniffer dogs and virtual tools,” he said.
In this regard, the Ministry of Health Communications Officer Nsindiso Tsabedze said the ministry has always had port health desks, where incoming travellers were screened for any illness.
He said this festive season; the screening would be stricter, especially checking for any signs of COVID-19 since some cases had already been identified in the kingdom.
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