Maseru — The Disaster Management Authority (DMA), in collaboration with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and other stakeholders, has completed its mission to repatriate undocumented Basotho migrants from South Africa, following the ongoing "March and March" movement.

This was said by DMA Chief Executive Officer, Mr. Reatile Elias, in an interview with the Agency, saying the repatriation exercise was completed last Sunday.

He said 31 buses were used to transport more than 2,000 undocumented Basotho migrants, including men, women and children, back to the country, saying the government has spent over M2 Million for this exercise.

He added that all of them had safely returned to their homes and that the Authority has not received any reports of assaults by South Africans or health-related problems.

"We have completed the mission and believe that those who remain in South Africa are documented," he said, indicating that undocumented migrants who chose to remain in South Africa would have to return to Lesotho on their own.

Asked whether the Authority would provide relief assistance to those individuals, he clarified that DMA's mandate is to provide emergency assistance during disasters, noting that the government, through various ministries, implements programmes aimed at assisting vulnerable groups to address hunger and poverty.

Meanwhile the government began repatriating undocumented Basotho migrants on June 27 after the "March and March" movement declared June 30 as a national shutdown, in protest against undocumented foreign migrants in South Africa.

Reports indicate that the movement also announced it would continue staging protests every Thursday until the South African government addresses its demands.

The repatriated migrants had been residing in KwaZulu-Natal, the Western Cape, Limpopo and Gauteng provinces.