SOUTH Africa’s North West National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) has revealed that a Zimbabwean man who snuck into the country with illicit cigarettes worth R12 million, during load shedding, is in South Africa illegally.
Joseph Kusekwa, 43, was arrested on Friday last week and is expected to appear in the Lehurutshe Magistrate’s Court for a bail application today. Provincial NPA spokesperson Henry Mamothame said Kusekwa was a Zimbabwean national who had no legal documentation to be in the country.
He added that the State intended to oppose his bail application. The man allegedly snuck into South Africa while there was load shedding at the border gate, which had caused computers to be offline.
Police spokesperson LieutenantColonel Amanda Funani said Kusekwa had entered South Africa from Botswana on Friday via the Skilpadshek port of entry. She said a police officer saw the truck leaving the border and driving towards Zeerust.
He informed his commander, and the truck was stopped before it reached Zeerust, and the driver ordered to drive back to Skilpadshek. Customs officials inspected the truck and found boxes of cigarettes valued at more than R12 million. Kusekwa first appeared in court on Monday.
The police official who allowed the truck to leave the border was being investigated, Funani said. Mamothame confirmed this, saying: “The police also indicated that the police official, who allowed the truck to leave the border, is being investigated, and charges of defeating the ends of justice could be added when the investigations are concluded.”—News24