Malawi is facing a sudden human crisis as thousands of its citizens rush back from South Africa to escape growing hostility against foreign nationals.
The disaster management department says it has helped 38,094 Malawians return between June 7 and July 8, part of a wider exodus triggered by weeks of anti-migrant marches and threats.
South Africa has seen protests accusing immigrants of taking jobs and straining services, with security forces deployed in hotspots such as Johannesburg’s Hillbrow. Police say at least four foreign nationals, including a Malawian, two Mozambicans and an Ethiopian, have been killed in violence linked to the unrest.
Malawi’s disaster commissioner Wilson Moleni said six Malawians died during or shortly after the trip home, all of them already ill when they left.He explained that many had been hiding, moving from place to place and staying in overcrowded camps, which made it hard to get medicine or hospital care.
More than 570 buses were used to move people out of South Africa, with most returnees processed at the Beitbridge border post. South African border officials estimate around 60,000 foreign nationals have been repatriated or deported during this period, mainly Malawians and Zimbabweans, but also Ghanaians, Nigerians and others using land borders and flights from Johannesburg.
Zimbabwe says it has helped nearly 21,300 citizens to return since late May, while Uganda reports about 1,100 of its nationals have gone home, and smaller groups of Mozambicans, Kenyans and other Africans have also left.
