Durban sends home 5,000 Malawian migrants as thousands await deportation

South Africa’s eThekwini municipality in Durban has facilitated the return of 5,000 undocumented Malawian migrants to Malawi, Justice Minister Mmamoloko Kubayi announced. The repatriations were carried out from a new temporary centre near North Beach, set up to reduce crowding at the Sherwood Hall camp.

At the same time, thousands of foreign nationals – predominantly Malawians – remain in a makeshift displacement camp on the grass of Sherwood Hall, living in cramped, unsanitary conditions while they await deportation buses. The camp has formed after an anti‑foreigner ultimatum set for 30 June, with many fearing a repeat of xenophobic riots that previously killed dozens in 2008, 2015 and 2019. Local protests against illegal immigration have heightened tensions, and authorities plan to close Sherwood Hall and use the new site as a "temporary return centre" for those seeking to go back to their countries.