Women and children of Malawian immigrants wait anxiously at Sherwood Hall.
Image: Doctor Ngcobo/ ANA Studio
For undocumented Malawian immigrants gathered at Sherwood Hall in Durban, the prospect of returning home has become a desperate necessity amid gruelling conditions and fears for their safety. The journey back to Malawi is no longer just a bureaucratic process—it is a final hope for stability and security.
Madalitso Banda, who has been living in South Africa for three years, said she was from Lilongwe in Malawi. She had come to South Africa to work but did not have the necessary documents.
“Now it’s hard for the baby. The baby was so sick,” Banda said. “Where I was staying (Chatsworth), all the foreigners were chased away and told to go home. Now it was hard to go to Malawi; that’s why I came here. Maybe the Malawi government will take all the people home.”
They had been at Sherwood Hall since last Friday, and the baby has been sick for five days.
Malawian immigrants wave from a bus heading to Malawi.
Image: Doctor Ngcobo/ ANA Studio
“Living here was so hard. But I understand that if I don’t have nice documents, I have to go home to stay there,” Banda said.
She said she wanted them to leave with her husband and her husband’s son, but if they say she should go ahead, she will go.
“I’m very scared because (on Wednesday), the police and other people were fighting. It was hard for the children. The children were crying. When there was a shooting, the children were crying, and even we were crying,” Banda added.
Standing in one of the queues, Joseph Nysoan said he was waiting to board a bus to Malawi.
After a three-week wait, he said he is ready to go home.
“Conditions are not right because it’s difficult to bathe, and the toilets are not right. So many people are here, and people have so much stuff. And we’re sleeping on the floor,” Nysoan said.
“I am happy to go home. Home is the best. My family is in Malawi.”
Conditions at Sherwood Hall highlight the struggles faced by Malawian immigrants in South Africa.
Image: Doctor Ngcobo/ ANA Studio
Alliy Shande, who has also been waiting three weeks, said he decided to return home amid xenophobia fears. He was with his nephew, and they were both waiting to go home.
Shande has been living in South Africa for a few years, and said he decided not to bring his wife with him.
“I know that to bring my wife here, this is not my country, if anything happens, I know it’s hard to move or run away when something happens. It’s hard to go somewhere you want to go,” Shande said.
Home Affairs KwaZulu-Natal manager Cyril Mncwabe said they do not know how many immigrants they are dealing with. No mechanism has been developed to check who and how many are at Sherwood Hall. They are still around the same figure, which is between 5,000 and 6,000.
He reiterated that they are following two processes: repatriation and deportation. He said that repatriation is funded by the Malawian government, while deportation, immigrants have to go to court and be confirmed for deportation in terms of the Immigration Act.
Buses arrive to transport Malawian immigrants to court, offering a glimmer of hope amid adversity.
Image: Doctor Ngcobo/ ANA Studio
Mncwabe said the South African government’s responsibility is to ensure the immigrants get the necessary documents for them to go home using the two processes being followed.
“We have been informed that about 10 buses have already arrived in Malawi,” Mncwabe said.
He said the government did not issue a deadline. Instead, the government is dealing with any illegal person legally: meaning that once they have been identified as an illegal person in South Africa, they need to apprehend them, take them through court processes and deport them accordingly.
Mncwabe added that they had hoped that the second site, Durban drive-in, would have been operational by Thursday.
“The latest information, when I checked with the municipality, because those are the people who are setting up that site, they indicated that they will give us the latest update before the end of Thursday. Possibly, we can then start (on Friday). I’m not sure whether it would be ready,” Mncwabe said.
Tents are being erected at Durban drive-in to aid in the deportation and repatriation of Malawian immigrants from Sherwood Hall.
Image: Doctor Ngcobo/ ANA Studio
He also noted that at least 12 babies were born on-site, with the last two born on Youth Day.