By Bhekizenzo Zonele
Five police officers stationed at Polokwane International Airport in Limpopo have each been granted R1,000 bail after appearing in the Polokwane Magistrate’s Court on Tuesday on charges of allegedly helping 46 undocumented Zimbabwean nationals evade arrest and immigration enforcement.
The officers face charges of defeating the ends of justice and contravening the Immigration Act following an incident in April 2025 in which the 46 foreign nationals allegedly disappeared while in police custody.
The accused are Makwela Emanuel Manamela, 49, Joyce Matlala, 48, Johannes Thole, 44, Congress Kwena Mothiba, 44, and Benjamin Chokoe, 51.
According to the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA), the offences fall under Schedule 1, and the State did not oppose the accused’s release on bail.
The matter was postponed to 30 November 2026 for further investigation.
The charges stem from an incident on 17 April 2025, when a traffic officer on routine patrol along the N1 near Polokwane stopped a 22-seater Mercedes-Benz minibus transporting 46 undocumented foreign nationals.
The driver was taken into custody, and the vehicle was taken to the Polokwane N1 weighbridge for further processing, where authorities established that all 46 passengers were undocumented.
The South African Police Service (SAPS) dispatched five officers, four men and a woman, to the scene to deal with the immigration matter.
According to the traffic officer, the police officers told him that the station commander had arranged for the foreign nationals to be taken to Polokwane Police Station for further processing.
However, when the station commander and the arresting traffic officer followed up at the police station, neither the officers nor the foreign nationals could be found.
Authorities later established that the foreign nationals had not been formally arrested or deported to Zimbabwe.
The incident prompted an investigation by the Provincial Anti-Corruption Unit, after which the Director of Public Prosecutions ordered that the five officers be charged.
The officers were arrested on Monday evening by the Provincial Anti-Corruption Unit, assisted by the Polokwane Tactical Response Team.
Limpopo Deputy Provincial Commissioner for Crime Detection Major-General Samuel Mashaba said police would not tolerate criminal conduct among their members.
“We have zero tolerance for those committing crime, even from our ranks. These members have betrayed their oath,” Mashaba said.
He said the investigation followed information received from the community and that investigators had engaged with the Department of Justice and Constitutional Development and the NPA.
Limpopo Provincial Police Commissioner Lieutenant-General Jan Petrus Scheepers also expressed disappointment over the allegations.
“They thought we made a joke when we said we would change the blue uniform to orange. But you cannot fight crime when you have it in your own ranks. That’s it,” Scheepers said.
Scheepers welcomed the arrests and commended investigators for pursuing accountability within the police service.
The NPA’s regional spokesperson in Limpopo, Mashudu Malabi, confirmed the bail outcome.
“The State did not oppose their release on bail, and bail was set at R1,000 for each accused,” the NPA said in a statement.
The five accused are expected to return to the Polokwane Magistrate’s Court on 30 November 2026.
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