The South African Cabinet has urged foreign nationals living in the country to obey local laws after authorities discovered a box of anti-retroviral (ARV) drugs among the wreckage of a deadly bus crash in Limpopo....Click to Read More >>➤

Tragic Crash Claims 42 Lives

The bus, which was en route from the Eastern Cape to Zimbabwe, veered off the N1 highway earlier this week, killing 42 people. The victims reportedly included Zimbabwean and Malawian nationals. Rescue teams also recovered several boxes of prescription medication from the crash site.

ARV Smuggling Investigation Underway

Authorities have since launched a full-scale probe to determine whether the medication was being smuggled across the border. Preliminary findings suggest that some of the drugs may have originated from public health facilities in South Africa.

Cabinet’s Warning to Foreign Nationals

Speaking during a media briefing in Pretoria on Thursday, Minister in the Presidency Khumbudzo Ntshavheni condemned the alleged smuggling and theft of essential medicines.

“Cabinet calls on foreign nationals to be well-mannered guests in South Africa and reminds everyone that it took a lot of effort to stop the recent unsavoury treatment meted out against foreign nationals at local clinics,” she said.

Ntshavheni further warned that the “proof confirming brazen theft of medicines from government clinics does not assist efforts to restore access to public health care for foreign nationals.”

Ongoing Probe and Border Security Concerns

Government officials say investigations will uncover how the ARV drugs ended up on the bus and whether any criminal networks were involved. Authorities have also called for tighter border controls to prevent similar incidents in the future.