South Africa deported 587 Zimbabweans through the Beit Bridge Border Post on Monday, bringing to 25 827 the total number of illegal immigrants brought home since the government resumed the exercise last October.

Zimbabwe’s regional immigration manager in charge of the Beit Bridge Border Post, Mr Charles Gwede, said between 1 January and 11 June, they handled 18 072 deportees, while the figure was 7 755 last year between 7 October and 31 December. The latest batch of deportees was brought in aboard seven buses from the Lindela Detention Centre outside Johannesburg.

Gwede said several border jumpers were taking advantage of the drop in water levels in the Limpopo River to  cross the border illegally. He warned people against crossing into South Africa illegally, as they are at risk of being attacked by robbers who operate along the river.

Gwede expressed concern over the continuous haphazard deportation of ex-convicts, saying it fuelled crime in the border town. "South African authorities are supposed to deport ex-convicts separately, but, sadly, we continue to receive them as a mixed batch and that is now a major challenge. They are supposed to be investigated first and then categorised accordingly, because most of them end up engaging in criminal activities," he said.

On arrival in the country, the returnees are received by the Immigration authorities at the International Organisation for Migration (IOM) Beit Bridge Reception and Support Centre (BRSC), who investigate them to ascertain whether they are bona fide Zimbabweans.

Soon after that process, IOM offers the deportees overnight accommodation, medication, food and transport to proceed to their respective homes.

The IOM BRSC has the capacity to accommodate 600 people at any given time. Some of the deportees turn down any form of assistance from the IOM and those who opt to go home using their own means are released. Most of them resort to crossing back to South Africa illegally.