Musina in Motion: Mapping Mobility, Settlement and Everyday Life in a South African Border Town

Presenters: Dr. Kabiri Bule (Wits), Dr. Sostina Matina (Wits), and Isabella Mockridge (MA Candidate, Barcelona School of Economics)

Date: Wednesday, 21 October 2026
Time: 12:30 – 13:30 (GMT+2)
Venue: ACMS Seminar Room (2163), Solomon Mahlangu House (2nd floor), East Campus, Wits University (directions) and Online (Meeting ID: 98754671628. Password: tqeo*x86sG)

Musina is often understood as a border town, a point of entry into South Africa and a place through which migrants pass. Musina in Motion offers a different spatial reading. Drawing on the GEMMS survey, sampling coordinates, and mapping layers, the presentation examines the town as part of a Southern African system of migration, circulation, settlement, and cross-border connection. It brings together birthplace, most recent migration origin, frequency of cross-border movement, settlement histories, and neighbourhood location to show how mobility is organised across Musina. Rather than treating people as migrant or settled residents, the analysis reveals overlapping forms of residence, repeated movement, regional connection, and local attachment. It asks what becomes visible when migration data are put back into space, and what spatial analysis adds to understanding border-town life.

About the Presenters:

• Dr. Kabiri Bule is an Urban Researcher and Quantitative Analyst at ACMS, University of the Witwatersrand.
• Dr. Sostina Matina is a Researcher at the ACMS.
• Isabella Mockridge is a Master’s candidate in Economics of Public Policy at the Barcelona School of Economics.

All welcome