AfriForum demands clarity about activities of border guards
14 March 2023
The civil rights organisation AfriForum has raised its concern about the activities of the so-called border guards deployed by the Border Management Authority (BMA). The organisation has submitted a Public Access to Information Act (PAIA) request to the Department of Home Affairs, requesting details about the guards’ successes to date.
The BMA guards were hastily deployed recently under very questionable circumstances. Shortly thereafter, AfriForum informed the BMA that the deployment of these guards was unlawful, seeing as the relevant legislation was not yet gazetted.
Despite the fact that this legislation is not yet in place, the BMA guards were deployed to various border areas and were actively stopping and searching vehicles and were also issued with firearms. The legislation was then quietly published in the Government Gazette.
AfriForum also raised concerns about the rushed training these guards received as well as the manner in which the guards were sourced.