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The government has moved from issuing warnings to taking action against vigilante groups involved in immigration-related activities, with seven people arrested for allegedly impersonating Home Affairs officials and carrying out illegal identity checks on foreign nationals.

Briefing the media on Sunday on progress made in implementing the government’s Five-Point Plan on Migration Management, Interministerial Committee (IMC) on Migration Chairperson and Justice Minister, Mmamoloko Kubayi said authorities had become increasingly concerned about people conducting unauthorised inspections and extorting foreign nationals.

Kubayi said while the government respected every citizen’s right to engage in protest, it was opposed to those who use the demonstration to commit crimes.

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“We have observed that there are still individuals who impersonate Home Affairs officials and target foreign nationals and some businesses for these illegal identity searches and sometimes extortion.

“We want to urge whoever is involved in this wrong practice to desist from it or face the might of the law,” she said.

Kubayi said the police had already been instructed to investigate reported incidents.

“We are glad to report that our law enforcement authorities acted swiftly in arresting about seven of these individuals in Polokwane and we would like to issue a stern warning to everyone who is involved in this to stop,” she said.

The arrests come as the government intensifies immigration enforcement under the Five-Point Plan, which combines border security, law enforcement, legislative reform and regional cooperation to address illegal migration.

Kubayi stressed that while the government was determined to clamp down on undocumented migration, enforcement remained the responsibility of authorised state agencies.

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The IMC also warned against attempts to obstruct official law enforcement operations.

“We have also noted that some groups tend to confront and seek to resist lawful operations by our law enforcement authorities. A case in point is the confrontation between law enforcement officers and some foreign nationals who were resisting law enforcement operations in Bellville a few days ago.”

The government, Kubayi said, would act decisively against anyone who interfered with law enforcement.

“We would like to issue a strong warning against those who undermine the work of our law enforcement officers or otherwise face the consequences.”

There have been reports that an individual died during the confrontation between the police and protestors in Bellville.

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Kubayi confirmed that the reports on the death of an individual during the Bellville operation were being investigated by the Independent Police Investigative Directorate (IPID).

“We would like to confirm that the matter is a subject of investigation by the Independent Police Investigative Directorate, and the report will be made public in due course,” Kubayi said.