A group of 150 Malawians repatriated from South Africa amid growing worries about xenophobia are due to arrive by road in their home country on Monday, the Malawian authorities have said.
The repatriation follows violence in South Africa’s Western Cape Province where there were reports a week ago of door-to-door intimidation, as well as the deaths of two Mozambicans in Mossel Bay.
The Malawians were “among a number of foreign nationals” who had “sought refuge in temporary camps” in Mossel Bay, according to a statement from Lilongwe.
Ghana, Nigeria and Zimbabwe have also organised repatriation efforts after raising concern about xenophobia in South Africa.
Anti-migrant groups are demanding undocumented migrants leave the country – and have set 30 June as a deadline.
In a national address on Sunday aimed at easing tensions, South African President Cyril Ramaphosa announced a raft of new measures to crackdown on illegal migration.
But he also warned South Africans not to take the law into their own hands. He told South Africans there was “no space for xenophobia, racism, sexism, Afrophobia or any other forms of intolerance” in the country.
A group of 74 Zimbabweans arrived home on Sunday “following xenophobic attacks” after being driven from Mossel Bay in transport organised by the Zimbabwean authorities, state-run media report.
At the end of last month, Ghana organised a repatriation flight from Johannesburg for nearly 300 of its citizens. A group of about 680 more arrived in Ghana’s capital, Accra, at the weekend.
Meanwhile, Nigeria has postponed the first planned evacuation flight for 270 of its citizens that was due to leave on Monday.
Nigeria’s foreign affairs spokesperson Kimiebi Imomotimi Ebienfa said the evacuation “has been rescheduled for Wednesday… due to unforeseen logistical considerations”.
Officials say more than 500 Nigerians have so far been screened and cleared for return as part of a wider government response to the anti-migrant tensions in South Africa.
Nigeria’s President Bola Tinubu has approved five evacuation flights in total, with screening and registration of affected citizens extended to Wednesday as authorities continue processing applicants.
Source: BBC
