…as son vanishes after alleged BMA arrest
…family demands answers as SA authorities trade conflicting accounts over missing man
Hopolang Mokhopi/Ithabeleng Qhasho
FOR more than six months, Masempe Makoaela has lived a nightmare no mother should ever endure.
Every morning she wakes hoping someone will tell her where her son is. Every evening she goes to bed with the same agonising question: What happened to Sempe?
The Makoaela family says 25 December 2025 was the last day anyone saw Sempe Makoaela after he was allegedly arrested by officers from South Africa’s Border Management Authority (BMA) at the Maseru Border Gate during the Christmas Day rush.
Since then, they say he has seemingly vanished without a trace.
His disappearance has left his family trapped in a maze of contradictory explanations from South African authorities, with each institution pointing the finger elsewhere while offering no definitive account of his whereabouts.
“My son never came home and I have never seen him since I heard that he had been arrested,” Ms Makoaela recently told the Sunday Express.
Now, exhausted after months of searching hospitals, police stations, prisons, mortuaries and government offices on both sides of the border, she says she wants only one thing: the truth.
“If my son is alive, bring him home. If he is dead, let me bury him. I cannot continue living with this uncertainty.”
Sempe was one of the informal cross-border facilitators commonly known as Lirurubele (or Serurubele (butterfly) in the singular), who, for a fee, assist people crossing between Lesotho and South Africa without travel documents or after overstaying their visas. They normally do that in collusion with South African border officials for whom they facilitate bribes. Their activities have increasingly come under pressure since South Africa strengthened border enforcement by introducing the BMA to improve border controls.
Christmas Day arrest
According to Ms Makoaela, her son crossed into South Africa on Christmas Day to accompany three people—two men and a woman—who allegedly lacked travel documents.
Four days later, she attended proceedings at the Ladybrand Magistrate’s Court expecting to see him among those arrested that day.
Instead, only the three people he had allegedly accompanied appeared before the court.
“I asked court officials where my son was, but they told me that only those three people had been arrested on Christmas Day. My son was not among them,” she said.
She then approached BMA officials, including Chief Immigration Officer, Cyprian Van Volenhonven, seeking answers.
According to her, officials denied that Sempe had ever been arrested.
Yet that explanation sharply contradicts the accounts of people who claim they witnessed his arrest.
Eyewitness account
One Serurubele claiming to be an eyewitness, who requested anonymity for fear of victimisation, told the Sunday Express he personally saw BMA officers apprehend Sempe.
“I saw Sempe walking with three other people when BMA officers arrested them,” the witness said.
Another Serurubele who allegedly escaped while being chased later confirmed to him that Sempe had been caught by BMA officers, he added.
The witness further alleged that Lirurubele were frequently subjected to harsh treatment by some BMA officers as authorities intensify efforts to curb illegal border crossings.
He claimed some BMA officers assaulted border facilitators and that there have been instances where such treatment allegedly resulted in deaths.
He said the BMA comprises personnel drawn from different South African security agencies, including correctional services, the defence force, police and immigration officials, resulting in varying approaches to enforcement.
A trail of contradictions
Determined to find her son, Ms Makoaela says she travelled repeatedly to Wepener, Ficksburg and Bloemfontein, checking hospitals, police stations, detention facilities and mortuaries.
Instead of answers, she says she encountered even more confusion.
Months into her search, officials allegedly informed her that her son had been detained under the name “Sephamo” before being released on 18 March 2026.
However, when she requested supporting documents, she says officials produced a file belonging to another man from Thaba-Tseka.
When she requested a photograph to confirm whether it was her son, officials allegedly refused.
Unable to establish what had happened, she reported Sempe missing to the South African Police Service (SAPS), the BMA, detectives in Ladybrand and later the Lesotho Mounted Police Service (LMPS).
She says every office simply referred her somewhere else.
“I want my son back, alive or dead,” she said through tears.
“If he is gone, let me bury him. Whether he is alive or dead, I deserve to know what happened to my child.”
More questions
Sources familiar with the investigation say the case has raised troubling questions.
They allege two BMA officers identified only as Tlali and Mabote, who have allegedly been linked to Sempe’s arrest, later claimed they were not on duty on the day he disappeared.
The sources also claim that everyone arrested by the BMA is ordinarily handed over to Ladybrand Police Station, yet police records reportedly contain no entry showing Sempe was ever booked into custody.
Investigators are also exploring whether authorities confused Sempe with another man named Sephamo from Thaba-Tseka.
According to the same sources, Ladybrand detectives recently visited the Maseru Border Gate as part of ongoing investigations.
Authorities’ response
South African authorities, however, continue to provide explanations that the family says only deepen the mystery.
Free State police spokesperson, Lieutenant Colonel Thabo Covane, said one Warrant Officer Mophiring informed him that Sempe had initially been circulated as a missing person before later being located.
According to Lt-Col Covane, the information he received was that Sempe had been released from prison and dropped at the border to return to Lesotho.
“This case is complicated because magistrates sometimes release people without our knowledge, as officers work in different sections, and that may be the case in this instance,” Lt-Col Covane said.
However, the family insists Sempe never returned to Lesotho and says no one has been able to explain when, where or to whom he was allegedly handed over.
Ms Makoaela has now escalated the matter to the diplomatic level, engaging the Lesotho’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Relations for it to engage its South African counterpart to intervene.
Ministry spokesperson, Setloke Lekhela, confirmed it is aware of the matter.
“The case was now being handled by the Consular Affairs Office and has been referred to both the South African High Commission and the LMPS for further investigation,” Mr Lekhela said.
As of publication last night, the BMA Free State provincial manager, Thabo Nkhoma, had not responded to questions from the Sunday Express regarding the family’s allegations or the conflicting accounts surrounding Sempe’s disappearance. This despite having promised to respond by Wednesday when contacted for comment. A follow-up inquiry proved fruitless on Thursday as his mobile phone rang unanswered.