South Africa Processes 53,449 Foreign Nationals for Deportation or Repatriation Since Mid-June

South Africa has processed 53,449 foreign nationals for deportation or repatriation between 14 June and 11 July 2026, AllAfrica reported. More than 80 percent of those individuals were Malawian nationals. Justice and Constitutional Development Minister Mmamoloko Kubayi stated the figures in Pretoria on Sunday.

The government also returned 1,159 people to Nigeria, 939 to Uganda, 431 to Kenya and 86 to the Republic of Congo during the same period. Kassim Jaffati, a 47-year-old Malawian, collapsed on a bus roughly 15 km outside the Musina Repatriation Centre after complaining of feeling hot and removing his shirt. He was declared dead on arrival, and police in Musina opened an inquest into the death.

Earlier incidents included a 5 May bus crash near the Nyamapanda border post in Zimbabwe that killed 15 Malawians and a 7 May crash near Louis Trichardt in Limpopo that killed eight more. On 30 June a bus carrying 65 repatriated Malawians overturned near Beitbridge, killing the driver and injuring 11 passengers.

Malawi's Department of Disaster Management Affairs said about 30,000 Malawians had returned home by 6 July.

Malawi's Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation George Chaponda told Parliament that the current repatriation represents the worst crisis affecting Malawians in South Africa in years. Chaponda linked the departures to anti-immigration protests and growing fear among undocumented migrants. Many of those leaving lacked passports or valid travel documents.

Embassies from Malawi, Zimbabwe and Mozambique have issued emergency travel documents to facilitate returns.