SA immigration officer exchanges blows with Zim travellers at Beitbridge Border

According to a witness, a South African immigration officer stationed at Beitbridge Border Post got into a physical altercation with Zimbabwe-bound travellers on Friday after they complained about his slow service.

The witness reported that the officer threw away the passports of a group of travellers who had challenged him for insulting them.

The officer, Thabo Mogkola, referred questions to Home Affairs spokesperson Siya Qoza, who allegedly did not respond.

A female traveller who wished to remain anonymous said that the officer was openly impolite, and his mood worsened when travellers complained about his sluggishness.

She added that people became upset about his attitude and started grumbling after waiting in the queue for a long time.

According to the witness, the officer began to deliberately slow down, and things escalated when he emerged from his office and started taking passports from the crowd, throwing them over a nearby fence.

As people scrambled to retrieve their passports, some physically attacked him, and the official fought back until some of his colleagues intervened.