Coronavirus: SAPS give clarity on the buses ferrying Japanese Nationals

South African Police Service

Coronavirus: SAPS give clarity on the buses ferrying Japanese Nationals
Coronavirus: SAPS give clarity on the buses ferrying Japanese Nationals

Mpumalanga police would like to put into perspective circumstances around the interception of four buses ferrying Japanese Nationals, on 22 March 2020, at Machadodorp which were escorted back to Lebombo Port of Entry.

This after information was passed to the office of the Provincial Commissioner, Lieutenant General Mondli Zuma by a whistle blower, about a convoy of buses ferrying Chinese Nationals headed to Gauteng. The whistle blower made allegations that the occupants might be possible a group of Chinese who were prohibited to disembark from their flights at the OR Tambo International Airport on 20 March 2020.

In that regard, the Nelspruit Flying Squad members were activated to respond to these serious allegations considering that the coronavirus is a global pandemic which is spreading rapidly internationally and has been declared a crisis.

The buses were indeed found at Machadodorp Toll Plaza and rerouted back to Lebombo Port of Entry as proper processes had to be conducted to verify the authorization of the trip. When the police arrived at the border with the buses, they were informed that the occupants were not Chinese but Japanese Nationals, working in Mozambique and that their government apparently decided to evacuate them from Mozambique back to Japan.

The police also discovered that they were processed accordingly by Port-Health as well as Home Affairs officials. After the verification process, the group was duly escorted to OR Tambo where they departed for Japan.

At this stage, the police management in Mpumalanga concluded that there is no wrongdoing in the actions undertaken by the police as well as the whistle blower given the conditions and the veracity of the Coronavirus.

The members were commended for their diligence in following up on the information as well as being thorough in investigating the matter.

South Africa Today – South Africa News

SOURCESouth African Police Service