A 25-year-old Zimbabwean journalist was arrested along the Limpopo Bridge by Zimbabwean police, after he allegedly tried to bribe them with R50 on being nabbed for attempting to cross into South Africa through Beitbridge border post illegally.

The Matabeleland South provincial police spokesperson, Insp Tafanana Dzirutwe, said the journalist was arrested on Saturday at around 14:00 while being illegally ferried into South Africa in a Gauteng-registered vehicle.

"We arrested a local journalist for attempting to bribe our officers who had intercepted the car from which the suspect was traveling in to South Africa. In fact, the suspect tried to offer our officers R50 so that they could allow him to pass through with an invalid passport illegally," he said.

The journalist was subsequently taken to the Beitbride police station where he was detained while investigations continue.

Dzirutwe said the suspect would appear in court soon on bribery charges and contravening a section of the Immigration Act.

Of late, there has been an increase in the number of Zimbabwean illegal immigrants being arrested and subsequently deported by the Home Affairs department for border jumping. Some are reportedly using undesignated entry points along the crocodile-infested Limpopo River despite the dangers of being attacked by criminals popularly known as gumagumas who operate in bushy areas along the border area and target border jumpers and smugglers.

Recently, another Zimbabwean journalist was also allegedly beaten unconscious and robbed of R500 and clothes by a group of armed gumagumas, while trying to cross into South Africa illegal through an unauthorized entry point near the Limpopo River.