Johannesburg – South Africa’s Border Management Authority intercepted 4,763 travellers attempting to enter or exit the country illegally during the 2026 Easter period, with Swati nationals among those caught in the crackdown.
BMA Commissioner Dr Michael Masiapato briefed the media on Sunday on the results of a 10-day operation that ran from 31 March to 9 April 2026, during which over 1.2 million travellers were processed across 71 ports of entry, representing a 21% surge in movements compared to the previous year.
Of the 4,763 intercepted, 3,170 were undocumented persons, 998 were classified as undesirables and 595 were found to be inadmissible for reasons including possession of fraudulent visas, failure to produce yellow fever certificates or travelling on invalid documents.
“All undocumented individuals were fingerprinted, declared undesirable for five years, and deported to their home countries in accordance with the Immigration Act. The majority of intercepted individuals were Basotho nationals, followed by Mozambicans, Zimbabweans, Swati nationals, Malawians, and Ethiopians,” Masiapato said.
The 2026 figures represent a 24% decrease from the 6,253 interceptions recorded during the 2025 Easter period. Masiapato attributed the drop to stronger enforcement measures. “The BMA attributes this reduction to enhanced enforcement measures, including the deployment of drones, the ongoing arrest of facilitators, the destruction of makeshift boats, and the removal of anchors and ropes used for illegal crossings along the Limpopo and Caledon rivers,” he said.
Among those intercepted were 29 unaccompanied minors, with 17 found at Lebombo and 12 at Beit Bridge. “These minors were handed over to the Department of Social Development for placement in a safe environment, engagement with their counterparts in adjacent activities, and the initiation of the process to reunite them with their families,” Masiapato said.
A total of 138 facilitators were arrested during the period, a 22% increase from the 113 arrested during the 2025 Easter period. Unlike the undocumented migrants, the facilitators were not deported. “These facilitators were not deported but were handed over to the South African Police Service and charged with aiding and abetting under section 49(2) of the Immigration Act,” Masiapato said.
He credited the rise in facilitator arrests to the full-time deployment of drones, body-worn cameras and Push-To-Talk communication technology, which allowed for real-time tracking and interception of illegal movements.
OR Tambo International Airport was the busiest port of entry, processing 234,389 movements, a 6% increase from 220,339 in 2025. Lebombo Port of Entry, bordering Mozambique, handled 195,293 travellers, up 21% from 161,457 in 2025, while Beit Bridge recorded 148,451 travellers, also a 21% increase from 122,228 in 2025.
Ficksburg port of entry to Lesotho saw the sharpest rise, recording 113,942 travellers compared to 72,522 in 2025, a 57% increase. Maseru Bridge recorded 113,581 movements, up 31% from 86,547, while Cape Town International Airport facilitated 94,023 traveller movements, a 10% increase from 85,631 in 2025.
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