South Africa Repatriates Over 53,000 Migrants Amid Xenophobic Violence

The South African government deported or voluntarily repatriated 53,499 foreign nationals over a five-week period ending in mid-July 2026. This migration management campaign followed weeks of violent anti-immigration protests involving looting, intimidation, and unauthorized civilian immigration checks. Malawian nationals accounted for over 80% of those processed, followed by citizens of Zimbabwe and Mozambique.

To facilitate the exodus, authorities established a Temporary Repatriation Processing Centre in Musina, which processed over 20,000 people. In Durban, thousands of Malawians gathered at temporary sites seeking return. While countries such as Ghana, Nigeria, Uganda, and Kenya provided transportation for their citizens, Zimbabwean returnees reported being classified as undesirable persons and issued five-year re-entry bans at the Beitbridge border crossing.

Mmamoloko Kubayi, Minister of Justice and Constitutional Development, stated that the government is scaling down temporary measures due to high costs and declining arrival rates. President Cyril Ramaphosa condemned vigilante attacks and warned citizens against taking the law into their own hands. Meanwhile, the South African Police Service arrested 350 people for public violence and is investigating the deaths of several migrants from Mozambique, Malawi, and Nigeria.

Zimbabwean President Emmerson Mnangagwa welcomed returnees and denied that any African government supports xenophobic actions, characterizing the attacks as the work of small groups. Conversely, the United Nations and human rights advocates warned that the government is using migrants as scapegoats for socioeconomic challenges like unemployment.