Mozambican Jailed 10 Years After Bomb Found at South Africa Border

A 26-year-old Mozambican man has been sentenced to 10 years in prison in South Africa after a military-grade mortar bomb was found hidden in his luggage at the Lebombo port of entry. Antonio Charles Mugabe pleaded guilty to three explosives charges, a case that underlines the baggage screening travellers face when entering South Africa from Mozambique.

Key facts

• The Boschfontein Regional Court passed sentence on Monday, 26 October 2026
• Mugabe pleaded guilty to possession, transportation and importation of an explosive device into South Africa
• He was arrested in August at the Lebombo port of entry while entering from Mozambique
• A 60 mm mortar bomb was found in his travel bag during a luggage scan
• The charges were brought by the Directorate for Priority Crime Investigation (DPCI)

What happened at the border?

South African police and the South African Revenue Service were carrying out a joint border operation, with routine screening and inspections of travellers entering the country from Mozambique, when Mugabe was stopped. Officials scanning his luggage spotted a suspicious object hidden in his travel bag, police said in a statement.

The item recovered was a 60 mm mortar bomb, described by police as a military-grade explosive device. Police said the device posed a serious threat to public safety and national security.

What was the sentence?

Mugabe pleaded guilty to all three charges brought against him: possession of an explosive device, transportation of an explosive device, and importation of an explosive device into the Republic of South Africa. The Boschfontein Regional Court sentenced him to 10 years in prison on 26 October 2026.

What is the wider context in South Africa?

The arrest and sentencing come during a wave of protests against immigrants in South Africa this year, some of which have turned violent and led to killings and looting, according to police. Protesters are demanding that all undocumented migrants leave the country, and a group behind the demonstrations, March and March, set a deadline of 30 June for undocumented migrants to depart. Protests were held ahead of that deadline, with reports of attacks on people from other African countries.

A few days before the sentencing, about 50 people in Durban beat a foreign national to death, police said. Two men approached the unidentified man, believed to be in his late 30s or early 40s, at the roadside before a larger group assaulted him; he was declared dead at the scene. Earlier in October, unknown people set fire to shops in Durban and in Soweto, near Johannesburg, and police arrested 15 suspects over violent protests in Durban and a surrounding suburb.

The government has urged demonstrators to act peacefully and has accepted the need for immigration reforms. It says it has deported or repatriated tens of thousands of foreign nationals since launching a crackdown earlier this year. Nigeria, Ghana, Zimbabwe and Mozambique have taken steps to repatriate their citizens for fear of further violence. Nigeria has accused South African authorities of responsibility for the deaths of some of its citizens, while Ghana confirmed the death of Bashiru Isak, a father of three shot dead in Cape Town during demonstrations targeting foreign nationals.

Official figures put the number of documented foreign nationals in South Africa at more than three million, with no record of those believed to be in the country without papers. Police say they have arrested about 80,000 migrants since January for being in the country illegally. South Africa has an unemployment rate of more than 30%.

What this means for travellers

Anyone crossing from Mozambique at the Lebombo port of entry should expect routine screening and luggage scanning by South African officials. Foreign nationals travelling in South Africa should also be aware that the source describes attacks on foreign nationals in Durban, Soweto and Cape Town, and that demonstrations have taken place in several areas.

No further court dates have been announced. The government has said immigration reforms are needed but has not set out further measures.