The government says more than 53,000 foreign nationals have either been deported or voluntarily repatriated since mid-June as authorities intensified immigration enforcement and responded to unrest linked to immigration concerns.
The large-scale operation comes as 205 criminal cases have been registered, 350 people arrested, 69 cases remained under investigation, and 112 matters were already before the courts in connection with unlawful conduct, intimidation, incitement and related offences.
Speaking during an inter-ministerial briefing in Pretoria on Sunday, justice and constitutional development minister Mmamoloko Kubayi said that by July 11, a total of 53,449 foreign nationals had been processed through deportation and voluntary repatriation programmes.
Malawian nationals accounted for about 80% of those processed, followed by Zimbabweans and Mozambicans.
The figures mark a sharp increase from the 15,162 Malawian nationals the government announced had been repatriated by June 26.
“We have continued to facilitate the return of foreign nationals to their countries, either through deportation or assisted voluntary repatriation,” said Kubayi. “The government commenced with the assisted repatriation process following challenges with regards to the Malawi government not being able to discharge its responsibility to sufficiently fund the buses for repatriation from June 14 2026,”
Kubayi said the deportations and repatriations by air travel were arranged for by countries of those being sent back home.
She added that countries of origin were responsible for providing temporary travel documentation for their citizens, while repatriations outside the Southern African Development Community (SADC) region were largely co-ordinated through air travel arranged by foreign governments.
Repatriations to countries beyond SADC amount to 2,650, and include the returns to Kenya, with a total of 431 citizens, 1,159 Nigerians, 86 people to the Republic of Congo and 939 Ugandans.
Kubayi warned that SA would continue to enforce its immigration laws. “Laws within our borders are respected. This country should not be seen as a safe haven for criminals, but also those who are here should not conduct activities that are unlawful and impact on the integrity and image of our country.”
Kubayi said the government established a Temporary Repatriation Processing Centre (TRPC) in Musina on July 1 after consolidating operations from several sites across the country.
Laws within our borders are respected. This country should not be seen as a safe haven for criminals, but also those who are here should not conduct activities that are unlawful and impact on the integrity and image of our country.
— Mmamoloko Kubayi
More than 20,000 foreign nationals have since been processed through the centre, which was built within four days.
Kubayi revealed that no government money had been spent on meals at the centre, with humanitarian organisations covering those costs.
She added that individuals who had been identified as being wanted for murder, armed robbery and rape, were removed from the repatriation process and handed over to police.
Kubayi said they had begun scaling down operations at the Musina facility following a significant decline in arrivals, with daily repatriations dropping from 4,850 people on July 5 to 1,139 by July 11.
However, Kubayi said immigration enforcement would continue. “We envisage a phased scaling down of the process which will not negatively impact or compromise both the deportation and repatriation processes we are undertaking. The reality is that these temporary measures, which are costly to our fiscus, were never meant to be permanent.”
She added that between April 1 and June 30, authorities deported 15,398 foreign nationals.
Sowetan
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