Police have arrested a 32-year-old Malawian national on charges of fraud after he was allegedly found in possession of passports and immigration-related documents in North End, Gqeberha, in the Eastern Cape.
Police spokesperson Captain Sandra Janse van Rensburg says officers were conducting routine patrols when they were approached by a member of the public who reported suspicious activity involving occupants of a vehicle.
The anonymous informant alleged that the occupants were exchanging money, documents and what appeared to be passports.
Van Rensburg says, “Police immediately approached the vehicle. Upon noticing the police, several foreign nationals fled the scene on foot. Further investigation led to the discovery of a Malawian male who was found in possession of cash, eight passports that did not belong to him, completed immigration-related documents bearing ID photographs, uncompleted immigration-related documents and a Samsung cellular phone. The suspect failed to provide a satisfactory explanation for being in possession of these items and was subsequently arrested.”
Migrants processed at the repatriation centre in Musina
Meanwhile, the Department of Home Affairs says the voluntary repatriation of Malawian nationals is entering its final stages, with officials expecting both the Durban and Pietermaritzburg transit sites to be cleared by the end of Tuesday.
Head of Immigration and Law Enforcement Stephen van Neel was speaking on the sidelines of the relocation of Malawian nationals from a temporary shelter in Pietermaritzburg to the repatriation centre in Musina, Limpopo.
Van Neel says the department is working to ensure the process is completed safely, efficiently and in an orderly manner.
“We are currently towards the end of the almost final stages of our repatriation that commenced last week, Monday, both here and Pietermaritzburg, as well as in Durban. Durban is in a more advanced stage because last night they had almost cleaned up the place with a few leftovers this morning when I passed there, and we hoped to have certainly that one, for sure, cleaned up by today. Here, we still have a lot of numbers here, but we hope to have this site in Maritzburg cleared, even if it’s late tonight,” Van Neel says.
Malawian undocumented migrants seek refuge
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