Flying squad escorts four 25-seater buses of foreign nationals back to Lebombo Gate

Update

MALALANE – A group of foreign nationals, that were intercepted at the Machado Toll Plaza outside eNtokozweni on Sunday, has since been confirmed to be Japanese volunteers who had been working in Mozambique.
The group entered the country at the Lebombo Border Gate on Sunday morning.

According to Solange Soares, spokesperson for TRAC N4, the company was ordered by the SAPS to stop four 25-seater buses with foreign nationals at the Machado Toll Plaza until members from the Nelspruit and White River Flying Squad arrived to escort them back to Lebombo.

The convoy arrived at the border at 16:20 where further confusion unfolded. An official at the Lebombo Border Gate confirmed that the group had entered the country through that gate at around 09:00 on Sunday and had gone through passport control.

“They are in the country legally and we do not understand why they were brought back here,” the official said.

EFF members waiting for the group of foreign nationals at the Lebombo Gate said they received information about the group who entered the country and alerted authorities. At the time it was believed they may have been Chinese tourists.

According to Tomohiro Seki, chief representative of the Japan International Cooperation Agency in South Africa, the rumour that the group had been denied entry into the country at OR Tambo International Airport is “absolutely not true”.

“They never landed at OR Tambo, so they were not denied entry into South Africa. They are Japanese volunteers working in Mozambique.

They tried to go back to Japan, but could not depart from Mozambique due to the suspension of all flights from Mozambique to South Africa.

So, they unavoidably had to go to OR Tambo by road.
“When they crossed the border, they could pass smoothly, and they were all subjected to temperature checks at the South African side.

“The Embassy of Japan in Pretoria had informed the South African Government through the Department of International Relations and Cooperation of South Africa of the volunteers who would travel to OR Tambo.

“I cannot understand why the police stopped them and took them back to the border gate. According
to one of the volunteers, the police did not give them a chance to explain the situation,” he said.

The group has since left the country.

Lowvelder previously reported:

Trans African Concessions (TRAC N4) was ordered by the South African Police Services (Saps) this morning to stop four 25-seater buses with foreign nationals at the Machado Toll Plaza outside eNtokozweni in Mpumalanga until members from the Nelspruit and White River Flying Squad arrived to escort them back to Lebombo Border Post.
This was confirmed by Solange Soares, spokesperson of TRAC N4.

TRAC N4 manages the N4 toll-route starting from Solomon Mahlangu off-ramp in Tshwane, Gauteng, to the Maputo Port in Mozambique.

Rumours that the group landed at O.R. Tambo International earlier where they were denied entry into the country and that they then boarded a plane to Maputo International Airport where they travelled by bus to South Africa could not be confirmed.

The buses were escorted by members of the police and briefly stopped next to the road near Malelane where refreshments were delivered to them.

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Editor of Lowvelder newspaper in Mbombela, Tarina Coetzee, followed the convoy and said confusion started here when some of the Japanese nationals brought it to the attention of the police that Japan was not on the list of countries banned from entering South Africa. They demanded to be released.

The convoy arrived at the border at 16:20 where further confusion unfolded. An official at the Lebombo Border Gate confirmed that the group entered the country through that gate at around 09:00 this morning and that they did go through passport control.

“They are in the country legally and we do not understand why they were brought back here,” the official said.
A group of Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) members who were waiting for the group of foreign nationals at the Lebombo Gate said they received information about the group who entered the country this morning and alerted authorities. At the time it was believed that it may be Chinese tourists.

The group stayed in their buses at the border until authorities could come to a decision whether they had to return to Mozambique or be allowed to visit South Africa.

The national broadcaster in Japan, NHK, today announced they had 1 055 cases of domestically transmitted cases of coronavirus, which was up 40 from yesterday. The number passed the 1 000 milestone on Saturday as the nation battles to avoid a health crisis ahead of the Tokyo Olympics.

The official national tally does not include the 712 cases of infections from a cruise ship moored near Tokyo last month.

This is a developing story and updates will be provided as the fate of the group is clarified by authorities.

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