Sixteen of 32 undocumented foreign nationals caught in a bus on the N1 near Bloemfontein due in court

Authorities intercepted a bus travelling from Zimbabwe to Cape Town carrying 32undocumented foreign nationalsduring a roadblock on the N1 near Bloemfontein. The vehicle was stopped at a roadblock on the N1 near Bloemfontein, where officials discovered the undocumented passengers among a group of travellers. According to authorities, 43 passengers were lawfully processed at the Beitbridge Border Post, while the remaining passengers were allegedly taken on after the bus had already entered South Africa, in Makhado and Johannesburg.

Free State police spokesperson Thabo Covane confirmed that 16 of the 32 undocumented Zimbabwean nationals are expected to appear in the Bloemfontein Magistrate’s Court on Tuesday. A case of contravention of the Immigration Act has been opened, and the court will determine whether the accused will pay a fine or serve a custodial sentence. “Those who can afford to pay the determined fine amounts will be handed over to immigration officers.

They will then be detained further, awaiting deportation processes. ”When the approval is received, they will then be transferred to Lindela, where they will be officially deported to their homeland. Those who cannot afford to pay the fine amounts will serve the sentence period in prison. Parents of the minors are deported directly to their homeland.” Twelve children have since been taken to a place of safety.