Malawians return from South Africa after anti-foreigner attacks
Thousands of Malawians have gone home as authorities process deportations and repatriations after violence targeting foreigners in South Africa.
By Lucas Ferreira · Science & Environment Writer
3 min read
Malawians are returning from South Africa after anti-foreigner violence forced many from their homes and jobs, leaving families with few possessions and little money. The movement has created an urgent repatriation effort as Malawi prepares for more citizens to arrive in the coming weeks, according to Al Jazeera.
Janet Kapito, a 27-year-old mother of three from Lolo village, told Al Jazeera she had gone to South Africa in 2022 hoping to earn enough to buy land and build a house in Malawi. She came back with her eight-month-old baby after fleeing attacks, and said some belongings she carried were stolen on a bus taking returnees home before a June 30 deadline.
Kapito said she had worked in a restaurant owned by a Nigerian and earned 2,000 rand a month. After protests began, she stayed indoors and could no longer work, she told Al Jazeera. Her husband, also Malawian and met in South Africa, was still travelling back, according to the report.
On arrival at Kamuzu Stadium, where returnees are being registered before going to their home districts, Kapito received 70,000 Malawian kwacha, about $40, Al Jazeera reported. She spoke near the unfinished foundation of the house she had planned to build with money earned abroad.
Thousands processed to return
The Malawi government is helping citizens leave South Africa, where many have worked for years in informal jobs, according to Al Jazeera. Private donors have also raised funds to bring stranded Malawians home by bus.
Local media reported that 6,936 Malawians had returned since the repatriation began. Malawi’s Department of Disaster Management Affairs previously estimated that about 10,000 Malawians in South Africa were in distress and said it had started a broad response plan for their return.
South African authorities said 15,162 Malawian nationals had been processed for deportation and repatriation, according to Al Jazeera. Returnees told the broadcaster that many had borrowed money at high interest to reach South Africa and were still repaying loans after COVID-19 restrictions hurt their ability to earn.
Several returnees described leaving homes with nothing and taking shelter in an open field in Durban as attacks against foreign nationals grew more intense, Al Jazeera reported.
Returnees describe fear and loss
Thokozani Mphola, 33, from Lomola in Thyolo District, told Al Jazeera she chose to leave because she feared being killed in South Africa. She moved there in 2024 and worked at a small factory packaging roasted groundnuts.
Mphola said her earnings allowed her to buy food, pay rent and send money to her mother for her children. She used her final wage to travel home, and told Al Jazeera she had seen foreigners beaten in the streets and did not plan to return even if the unrest eased.
Malawian community sources in South Africa told Al Jazeera that election periods often bring renewed anti-foreigner language and attacks. Some returnees did not want to speak publicly, while Al Jazeera reported that deportation can carry stigma in Malawi, where formal unemployment remains high.
Idrissah Akilemu, a father of two in his 30s, was among the first returnees received by Malawian officials. He told reporters that his Johannesburg home was burned during a night raid by protesters targeting foreigners, and said he had lost all his belongings.
Akilemu said donated clothes were all he had after sheltering in a community hall while awaiting deportation. He told reporters he hoped to find money to start a small business in Malawi.
This story draws on original reporting from Al Jazeera.