In a major anti-trafficking operation, South African border officials have intercepted dozens of buses carrying more than 400 unaccompanied children from Zimbabwe. The children, all under the age of 8, were found traveling without parents or legal guardians.
South African Border Management Agency commissioner Mike Masiapato stated that the children were denied entry into South Africa and were returned to Zimbabwe. He added that Zimbabwean officials were notified to process the children back into their country.
The buses were allowed through on the Zimbabwean side of the Beitbridge border post, South African border officials said.
Ngqabutho Mabhena, chairperson of the Africa Diaspora Forum, which represents foreign nationals living in South Africa, expressed his belief that the buses were carrying Zimbabwean children coming to South Africa to visit their parents during the end-of-year holiday season.
He acknowledged that it is common for children to be sent over the border without proper documentation, and he urged Zimbabwean parents living in South Africa to ensure that their children have the necessary travel documents before sending them to South Africa.
Around 178,000 Zimbabweans live and work in South Africa legally under an exemption permit, but a 2022 South African census indicated that there were over a million Zimbabweans in the country. Some estimates suggest that the actual number may be as high as 3 million.
South Africa, Africa’s most advanced economy, launched a new border force in October to tighten control over illegal immigration from Zimbabwe and other neighboring countries.