Mozambique: “There are infiltrators in Frelimo”, accuses Samora Machel’s son - AIM | Watch
File photo: Lusa
Mozambique’s migration service (Senami) on Friday accused the South African authorities of violating deportation procedures for illegal migrants by repatriating 78 Mozambicans “without warning”.
“We were surprised by the arrival on Wednesday of 78 of our compatriots deported from South Africa, without this action having been communicated to us seven days in advance, as agreed between the authorities of the two countries,” Senami spokesman Celestino Matsinhe told Lusa.
Some of the migrants were expelled from South Africa for illegal immigration and the others after serving prison sentences, he added.
“They were taken from various parts of South Africa to the border of Ressano Garcia and after a screening we found that they are Mozambicans who migrated illegally to South Africa and prisoners who served their sentences”.
The “surprise deportation” of Mozambican emigrants caused embarrassment at the border of Ressano Garcia, in southern Mozambique, as the migration services were not informed of the operation.
Celestino Matsinhe said that the Mozambican authorities had already protested to South Africa about the way in which the deportation had taken place.
In statements to the public broadcaster Radio Mozambique, several emigrants complained of having been victims of aggression by the South African police.
The president of the National Human Rights Commission, Luís Bitone, quoted today by Rádio Mozambique, said that he had learned of the matter through the media and announced the creation of a commission to investigate the case.
Hundreds of Mozambicans are regularly deported from South Africa because they are found in the country without permission to enter or stay.
South Africa, the largest economy in the region, is home to over two million Mozambicans working in mines, agriculture and casual labour.
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