South Africa has deported more than 290 Mozambican nationals for immigration violations and criminal offences, underscoring Pretoria’s hardening stance on border control.
The group, now under the care of authorities in Maputo Province, includes individuals without valid travel documents as well as others linked to crimes ranging from robbery to illegal mining.
Carmen Mazenga, spokesperson for the Maputo Provincial Migration Services, confirmed that some deportees had no passports or lacked entry and exit stamps, while others were sent back after convictions.
“Two were involved in illegal mining, five in robbery, and one in physical assault,” she said. Mozambican authorities have begun relocating the returnees to their home regions, a process that strains reintegration systems already under pressure.
The mass deportation highlights South Africa’s stepped-up immigration enforcement.
In 2024/25 alone, the Department of Home Affairs reported nearly 47,000 deportations.
Don’t Miss This: Africa’s First Underground Tunnel Project to Begin in Lagos – SGOF
President Cyril Ramaphosa has also launched a dedicated border force to curb illegal entry, with particular scrutiny on nationals from Zimbabwe, Mozambique, Lesotho, and Malawi, who collectively make up a significant share of South Africa’s 4% migrant population.
For Mozambique, deportations are nothing new.
Between January and June 2025, over 5,000 Mozambican nationals were expelled from South Africa, the majority for irregular entry.
Others were implicated in offences including robbery gangs, domestic violence, and even homicide. Women accounted for about 5% of those deported.
Economically, the deportations present a dilemma.
While South African officials argue that crackdowns protect jobs and reduce crime, analysts warn that removing migrant workers undermines the informal economy in border communities, where Mozambicans play a key role in farming, mining, and domestic work.
The timing is particularly sensitive as South Africa’s economy faces headwinds, including steep U.S. tariffs—up to 30%—on its exports, the highest in Sub-Saharan Africa.
The deportations also carry diplomatic weight. Pretoria’s increasingly tough stance on migration has periodically strained relations with its neighbors, especially Mozambique, with whom it shares deep historical and economic ties.
Meanwhile, the wider Southern African region is grappling with how to balance security with mobility.
Namibia and Zambia, for instance, recently announced plans to allow cross-border travel using national ID cards instead of passports—a softer approach in contrast to South Africa’s tightening regime.
For now, the return of Mozambicans remains a recurring pattern shaped by geography, economics, and politics.
But as Pretoria doubles down on enforcement, Maputo faces the challenge of managing a growing tide of returnees—and the ripple effects on communities already struggling with poverty and unemployment.
Source: https://africa.businessinsider.com/local/lifestyle/south-africa-deports-over-290-mozambicans-over-immigration-criminal-offences/telb35w
Image Credit: Business Insider Africa
