A South African freelance photo journalist was fined US$150 or 60 days in jail on Friday for taking pictures of border jumpers, the Limpopo Bridge and the Beit Bridge Border Post on the Zimbabwe side.

Robin Nicholas Hammond of Cape Town was convicted on charges of contravening a section of the Protected Places Act (taking pictures of a protected area without permission from relevant authorities) by a local magistrate, Mr Carrington Karidzagundi. Hammond was, however, acquitted of the charge of contravening the Immigration Act (failure to comply with the conditions of his permit) following failure by the State to prove its case against him. Initially, Hammond was also charged with violating the conditions of his visa permit.

The prosecutor, Mr Marvelous Chikomo, said that on 15 April at around 07:20, Hammond, who was in the company of Bertha Chiguvare, a Zimbabwean based in Musina, arrived in Zimbabwe through the Beit Bridge Border Post on a holiday visit. Hammond was granted a holiday permit by local immigration authorities. Hammond then proceeded to a local hotel, where he booked accommodation under Chiguvare’s name.

The following morning, he teamed up with Chiguvare and they went to Dulibadzimu Bus Terminus to look for someone who would lead them to an undesignated entry point used by border jumpers to cross into South Africa illegally . On arrival at the bus terminus, they approached one Patrick Muleya, who offered to help them identify a person involved in assisting border jumpers to cross the Limpopo River illegally .

Muleya took Hammond and Chiguvare to Terence Moyo, and they boarded a taxi to the illegal crossing point, where Hammond allegedly took pictures of border jumpers. He was, however, spotted by soldiers who were on a routine border patrol and he fled from the scene.

Hammond and Chiguvare later went to the Beit Bridge Border Post where they started taking pictures of travellers, the buildings and the bridge. They were spotted by local police detectives, who confronted them, and Hammond was arrested. He was in possession of a sound tracker and a Canon digital camera containing images of the New Limpopo Bridge and sections of the river.