Zimbabwean citizen recounts leaving South Africa over anti-migrant sentiment

Around 25,000 migrants have left South Africa in recent weeks over rising anti-immigrant sentiment that has resulted in the deaths of four people. One returnee from Zimbabwe recounts his experience.

Now back in Zimbabwe, Takesure Nyawo recalls the fear he and his family felt from the growing anti-immigrant sentiment in South Africa which prompted him to return with his family after living there as an undocumented migrant since 2017.

He is among thousands of migrants who left ahead of a June 30 deadline, set by a loose coalition of minor political parties and small citizen-led vigilante groups, for foreigners without residency papers to leave.

South Africa's security forces said Monday that more than 25,000 people have been repatriated in recent weeks ahead of planned anti-immigrant protests, with many others still awaiting departure.

The outflows come as thousands seek to leave over safety fears after citizen-led groups issued an unofficial ultimatum for undocumented foreigners to exit the country by June 30.

Several governments, including Nigeria, Malawi, Ghana, Zimbabwe and Mozambique, have organised voluntary repatriation flights and buses after weeks of protests, looting and attacks targeting foreigners that have left four people dead.

"To date, more than 25,000 foreign nationals have been repatriated," the National Joint Operational and Intelligence Structure (NATJOINTS), which coordinates between the police, military and intelligence agencies, said.

Unauthorised vigilante visits

The latest figures mark a sharp increase from last week, when authorities said 15,000 Malawians had been processed. At least 988 Ghanaians and about 600 Nigerians left by plane earlier this month.

"This is an ongoing process," NATJOINTS said, adding that specialised units, including K9 teams and the Air Wing, have been deployed.

Small but organised anti-illegal immigration groups have rallied behind the unauthorised Tuesday deadline, calling on undocumented migrants to leave or face consequences.

They have organised a series of marches across the country. Mobs have meanwhile gone from house to house telling migrants to leave or demanding to check their documentation.

The "anti-foreigner sentiment" has left four people dead, NATJOINTS said.

olice told AFP the victims included two Mozambicans, an Ethiopian and a Malawian. At least 195 suspects had been arrested since March 1 for hostility toward foreigners, NATJOINTS said.

Heightened security fears have driven thousands of migrants to gather in makeshift encampments in poor conditions in southeastern Durban, the tourist hub of Cape Town and the financial capital Johannesburg waiting for transport to their home countries.

South Africa, a long-standing destination for migrant labour, is grappling with unemployment above 30 percent and a history of recurring anti-foreigner violence, often driven by claims that migrants drive crime and take jobs.

Analysts say the vigilante groups are scapegoating foreign nationals rather than addressing deeper economic and governance challenges.

Past flare-ups of violence targeting undocumented foreign nationals have been deadly, with 62 people killed in riots in 2008.