SA imposes 5 year entry ban on travellers caught with fake COVID-19 certificates

South African Home Affairs minister Aaron Motsoaledi says the country is re-opening 20 land borders on Monday, including Beitbridge.

He, however, warned that travellers who are caught with fake Covid-19 certificates will be banned from entering SA for at least five years.

“The primary interest for us is to make sure that anyone who comes into South Africa has got a valid Covid-19 negative test.

“People who present fake certificates are not allowed into the country for a period of five years,” he said.

He appealed to travellers to bring all needed documents to avoid inconveniences:

“We appeal to travelers to ensure that they have all the requisite travel documents, including valid Covid-19 tests, when they present themselves to the officials at our borders.”

He added that the health officials at the border look at Covid-19 certificates and if they suspect that it may be fake, they then call the laboratory that conducted the test.

He added if that lab does not exist, they then deny entry to those people because the certificate would be fake.

The twenty land borders to reopen on Monday, include crossings between SA and Botswana, Lesotho, Eswatini, Namibia, Mozambique and Zimbabwe which were closed on January 11 in an attempt to control the spread of Covid-19.

-Zwnews/ Agencies