At least five Mozambicans are dead, hundreds of Ghanaians have been airlifted home, and now Malawi has joined the growing list of African governments scrambling to bring their nationals out of South Africa as a fresh wave of anti-migrant violence grips the continent’s most industrialised economy.
Malawi’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation announced on June 2 that it was putting in place a voluntary repatriation programme for citizens who wish to return home from South Africa, where vigilante groups have been targeting foreign nationals across several parts of the country. The ministry said it had been tracking developments through its diplomatic missions in Pretoria and Johannesburg while engaging South African authorities on the safety of Malawians.
One citizen-led organisation has demanded that undocumented foreign nationals exit South Africa by June 30, and there have since been reports of vigilante groups checking the documentation of migrants and forcing small businesses run by non-South Africans to close — actions that have no official backing and have been criticised by the authorities.
“The repatriation exercise is intended only for Malawian nationals who have voluntarily indicated their willingness to return home and require logistical support from the Government,” the ministry said. “Accordingly, the public will be formally informed of the final logistics of the repatriation exercise once all preparations have been completed and in accordance with requisite arrangements that ensure the safety and wellbeing of the nationals.”
Officials stressed that participation in the programme would be strictly voluntary and limited to citizens who had formally requested government assistance.
Ghana, which has already flown home 300 of its citizens with hundreds more due to leave, and Nigeria, which has also announced emergency repatriation flights, have led the most visible responses among African governments. The Ghana High Commission in Pretoria processed over 800 citizens who requested immediate evacuation due to systemic harassment and threats to their businesses, with the initial government-funded charter flight returning nearly 300 nationals via O.R. Tambo International Airport.
The toll has been bloodiest for Mozambique. Mozambique said five of its nationals were killed in xenophobic attacks in South Africa, as efforts got underway to repatriate hundreds more. About 800 Mozambicans were targeted in violence that erupted in the southern city of Mossel Bay on May 29. Two additional Mozambicans died in a road accident while travelling home. The remaining just over 500 have since been sheltered in a safe location in the Western Cape Province, and as of June 1, the process of their repatriation to Mozambique was already underway.
In the coastal town of Gansbaai, a local councillor told reporters that people were being dragged out of their houses — whether documented or not — with some losing their passports in the process. The Mozambique government said the situation remained volatile and was expected to worsen ahead of the June 30 deadline, and that it was working on additional measures to support its nationals still in the country.
South Africa, the continent’s most industrialised economy, has long attracted both legal and undocumented African workers and has experienced repeated waves of xenophobic violence over the past decades, with migrants accused of crime and taking jobs from locals. A major outbreak in 2008 killed 62 people and further episodes followed in 2015 and 2016.
Malawi’s announcement places it alongside Ghana, Nigeria, and Mozambique in taking concrete steps to assist citizens caught in the unrest, a coordinated regional response that underscores the growing strain the crisis is placing on South Africa’s relations with its African neighbours.
By: Andrews Kwesi Yeboah