By Julia Moyo
Police fired stun grenades and rubber bullets at Durban’s Sherwood Hall transit site on Wednesday after Malawian men in the second repatriation group protested and refused to board vehicles for immigration processing.
Unlike Monday’s departure, which included women, children and men and passed without incident, Wednesday’s standoff turned violent when men demanded direct transport to Malawi instead of transfer to Lindela Repatriation Centre.
The unrest began when authorities instructed residents to relocate from the overcrowded facility and board vehicles arranged for further processing. Several men refused, saying they had been promised transport directly to Malawi. Others questioned why they were being placed in vans instead of buses.
“We have been told to go to Malawi, why are they not taking us to Malawi now,” one protester said. Another man said: “They are putting us inside vans instead of putting us in buses.”
Witnesses said some protesters armed themselves with rocks, sticks and bottles and threw them at officers. Law enforcement responded with crowd-control measures to disperse the group and restore order.
Authorities say Sherwood Hall has exceeded its intended capacity as thousands of Malawian nationals have gathered there in recent weeks amid fears linked to anti-migrant tensions in parts of the country.
The Department of Justice and Constitutional Development confirmed that 1,876 of the approximately 7,000 Malawian nationals processed at the site had been identified as undocumented or illegally residing in South Africa. Government has established a virtual priority court to accelerate immigration-related processes and documentation verification.
Repatriation efforts have been under way since last week. Buses provided by the Malawian government have transported hundreds of citizens back to Malawi, with Monday’s group including women, children and men. Officials say processing of remaining groups is ongoing.
The Malawian government said it will continue providing consular and logistical support. “The government will continue providing transit and consular support to Malawians displaced in South Africa,” Chief Secretary Dr Justin Saidi said. The growing number of people at the transit site has placed pressure on authorities, who have warned that alternative accommodation and processing arrangements may be required as the operation continues.
The Malawian government has appealed for donations and additional support for the repatriation programme. Officials have not yet confirmed whether any arrests or injuries resulted from Wednesday’s confrontation.
