A group of 26 young Malawians, the alleged victims of human smuggling, are caught up in a legal wrangle over their stay in South Africa as authorities mull over a decision to charge the Port Elizabeth driver who had transported them.
The group was discovered when the van they were travelling in was stopped near Kinkelbos, 47km from Port Elizabeth, on July 27.
They were arrested on the grounds of allegedly being illegal immigrants.
It is still being established who in the group are adults or children as 22 of them claim to be minors – something the authorities are not convinced of.
The driver of the vehicle also had almost 50 passports in his possession but none of them belonged to anyone in the van except his own.
Last week, police spokesperson Colonel Priscilla Naidu confirmed the arrests but said it was not a case of human trafficking.
It is understood that the driver was paid to bring the group to SA.
National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) spokesperson Tsepo Ndwalaza confirmed that the group had appeared in the Alexandria Magistrate’s Court on Thursday and that the matter had been postponed to September 27.
He said the reason for the postponement was to verify the ages of some of the accused.
“We will ask a doctor to verify their ages as some of them do not look like the ages they claim to be. We can confirm that we are not convinced that these people are under the age of 18.”
He said at this stage the evidence indicated that all were alleged illegal immigrants.
“This case involves a lot of people and during interviews a lot of information has been received with the help of an interpreter,” Ndwalaza said.
“Some of them say they borrowed money – or their parents did – so that they can come to South Africa in search of work opportunities.
“This is for them to improve their lives and that of their families back home,” Ndwalaza said.
He said police had not decided yet which charges to bring against the driver, who lives in Port Elizabeth.
“The driver will probably be prosecuted for corruption and some immigration offences that we are still considering,” he said.
It is understood that the driver had 47 passports in his possession of which only his own belonged to someone in the vehicle.
The rest of the passport holders are still being traced.
The Malawians are currently being assisted by Legal Aid SA and the Refugee Rights Centre at Nelson Mandela University.
Department of social development spokesperson Mzukisi Solani said the group was being held at a place of safety in East London.
On Wednesday traffic officers in Limpopo pulled over a truck, conveying 87 people, travelling from Malawi to Durban.
The driver was arrested near Polokwane.