Minister of Home Affairs Leon Schreiber addresses the successful deportation of thousands of foreign nationals amid ongoing migration management efforts.
Image: Ntswe Mokoena / GCIS
The Department of Home Affairs has repatriated and deported 9,488 foreign nationals from the Durban Drive-In site as government intensifies efforts to manage displaced migrants and undocumented individuals across the country.
Minister of Home Affairs Leon Schreiber said the operation had been conducted in an “orderly, lawful and humane manner”, with authorities continuing verification and repatriation processes at the site.
“A total of 9,488 foreign nationals have now been repatriated and deported from the Durban Drive-In site in an orderly, lawful and humane manner,” Schreiber said.
Despite the large-scale operation, thousands remain at the site.
“An estimated 7,000 individuals remain at this site, although more people do arrive even as verification and operations continue,” he added.
The minister also confirmed that all Malawian nationals who had been left stranded at Newlands in Johannesburg had now been successfully repatriated following intervention by the Department of Home Affairs.
“The Malawian nationals who were left stranded at Newlands in Johannesburg have also all been repatriated after Home Affairs stepped in to assist,” said Schreiber.
In KwaZulu-Natal, government teams have also been working to remove people from a site in Pietermaritzburg, which authorities described as having unacceptable living conditions.
“In Pietermaritzburg, 657 people have been repatriated from a site with inhumane conditions, and operations will continue into the night,” Schreiber said.
The repatriation programme forms part of a coordinated government response involving multiple departments and spheres of government. Authorities say the objective is to ensure that migration-related operations are conducted within the framework of the law while safeguarding human dignity.
Schreiber said the Department of Home Affairs and the Inter-Ministerial Committee (IMC) would continue working together to manage the situation.
“Home Affairs and the IMC continues to collaborate with colleagues across all spheres of government to ensure a well-managed process, while reaffirming that no person may engage in violence, incitement or infringe on the dignity of any other human being,” he said.
The department has indicated that verification, repatriation and deportation operations will continue at affected sites as authorities work to address the remaining caseload.
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