South Africa has repatriated 2,745 foreign nationals in the week since President Cyril Ramaphosa pledged tougher action against illegal immigration…reports Africa Daily News Desk
South Africa has repatriated 2,745 foreign nationals in the week following President Cyril Ramaphosa’s pledge to tighten measures against illegal immigration, as authorities grapple with growing anti migrant sentiment and rising tensions across parts of the country.
According to a report by Africa News, Home Affairs Minister Leon Schreiber said the deportations were carried out in the days after Ramaphosa announced a tougher stance on undocumented migration.
“As of last night, the number we can report is 2,745 repatriations that have come in this period since the president spoke,” Schreiber told reporters, adding that the figure continued to change as operations progressed.
South Africa, one of Africa’s largest economies, has long attracted migrant workers from across the continent. However, with unemployment remaining above 30 per cent, concerns over illegal immigration have increasingly become a political and social flashpoint.
Recent weeks have seen outbreaks of anti immigrant unrest, with groups of South Africans marching through several communities demanding that undocumented foreign nationals leave the country by June 30.
According to Africa News, growing security fears following incidents of looting and attacks on foreign nationals have prompted citizens of Nigeria, Malawi, Ghana, Zimbabwe and Mozambique to accept voluntary repatriation programmes organised by their governments.
Many of those repatriated were Malawian nationals. Authorities said around 7,000 Malawians had been sheltering in an open field in the port city of Durban amid fears for their safety.
An inter ministerial migration committee established after Ramaphosa’s address said eight buses arranged by the Malawian government began transporting citizens home on Sunday, while South Africa provided an additional 10 buses to accelerate the process.
Among those returning was 25 year old Fortunate Chilenje from Malawi, who said she had lived in South Africa for three years.
“I’m relieved we are finally leaving. It’s better than living in fear here,” she said.
Tensions have escalated since a May 29 march against illegal migrants in the Western Cape town of Mossel Bay, after which two Mozambicans were killed. Mozambican authorities later put the death toll at five.
Ramaphosa has acknowledged public concerns over illegal immigration but has warned that authorities will not tolerate vigilante actions or attempts by citizens to take the law into their own hands.
According to South Africa’s statistics agency, more than three million foreign nationals live in the country, accounting for about 5.1 per cent of the population.
