By Burnett Munthali
The Department of Immigration and Citizenship Services says “scores” of the 980 Malawians deported from South Africa were left stranded at Mwanza Border Post yesterday due to lack of transport to their respective homes.
South Africa deported the group of Malawians that was being held at Lindela Repatriation Centre in Krugersdorp, described as the biggest single repatriation in a day.
The deportees were transported on 14 buses that left on Thursday evening and arrived in Mwanza on Saturday.
Immigration national spokesperson Pasqually Zulu confirmed in an interview yesterday about the deportation of the Malawians.
He expressed concern about the decision by South African authorities to drop them at Mwanza Border Post instead of their usual destination.
He said Malawian illegal immigrants deported from South Africa are usually dropped off at Wenela Bus Depot in Blantyre from where they are assisted to connect to their respective destinations.
Said Zulu: “All along when they [South African authorities] deport Malawians, they take them up to Wenela Bus Depot in Blantyre.”
But surprisingly, this time around they dropped them off at Mwanza Border where several of them were stranded because they did not have transport to their final destinations.
“On the other hand, we appeal to Malawian nationals to adhere to immigration rules and regulations in the host countries to avoid such avoidable deportation.”
He said the 980 deportees include 98 women and 36 children.
One of the deportees, Angela Kadenge from Chamakala in Kasungu, said she was detained at Lindela Repatriation Centre for about two weeks after her arrest by South African police and Home Affairs officials on May 30 2026.
She said she was among scores of deportees stranded at Mwanza Border Post due to lack of money to pay for transport home.
“I have nothing to sell to raise money for transport,” said Kadenge.
Many of us are stranded here because we don’t know where we can get transport to our respective homes,” said Kadenge.
South African media outlet eNCA on Thursday quoted that country’s Department of Home Affairs official Stephen van Neel as having said that the large number of the deported Malawians were “not solely linked to the voluntary repatriation of Malawian nationals in South Africa impacted by the ongoing anti-illegal immigration protests”.
He said some were coming either from correctional service, holding cells or some of the operations and raids that saw them ending up at Lindela Repatriation Centre.
Said Van Neel: “They are coming from across the country.”
This centre serves all nine provinces and that is where we get our people.
Everybody who ends up here who is a foreign national, either they have transgressed Immigration Act, but other times you find that this person has also been criminally charged in one or other matter.
In April this year, South Africa’s Minister of Home Affairs Leon Schreiber stated that the department achieved an annual record of deporting 51 000 illegal immigrants, an 18 percent increase from the previous year.
Van Neel said deportations to neighbouring countries such as Zimbabwe and Mozambique are relatively cheaper due to the shorter travel distances unlike places like Malawi.
Meanwhile, the deportations have coincided with the Malawi Government’s move to hire about 55 buses to transport Malawians voluntarily seeking to return home due to renewed xenophobic attacks targeting foreign nationals.
Hundreds of Malawians flock to South Africa seeking economic opportunities against a background of high unemployment back home.
