By Palesa Matlala
- Malawi’s government is appealing for donations to fund the repatriation of up to 10,000 nationals camped at Sherwood Hall in Durban.
- Officials say more than 1,000 buses are still needed to complete the operation before the community-imposed 30 June deadline.
Up to 10,000 Malawian nationals are sleeping at Sherwood Hall in Durban, waiting for buses to take them home. Officials say they need more than 1,000 buses to finish the job. Thirteen days remain before the community-imposed 30 June deadline.
The repatriation has been running since 9 June in three waves. The first group left that day. On 15 June, eight buses carrying 645 people departed under the Voluntary Repatriation Exercise, confirmed by the Malawian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation. Those buses crossed into Malawi at the Mwanza Border Post today. A third wave began yesterday and is continuing this morning, with South Africa deploying 10 additional buses to run alongside Malawi’s own efforts.
But the numbers make the scale of what is left plain. Thousands are still at Sherwood Hall. The Malawian government has described the operation as a national humanitarian crisis and is appealing to businesses, faith-based organisations and humanitarian groups for funding and transport.
KwaZulu-Natal MEC Siboniso Duma Ntuli visited the site this week. He said the situation is urgent because people keep arriving.
“When we already have more than 10,000 people here, we don’t know how many more will arrive tomorrow or next week,” Ntuli said. “It is important that we move faster.”
Men waiting at the camp said they are exhausted. As officials left the site, some called out for help.
“We need to go home. Make a plan for us,” one man said.
Others directed their plea at President Cyril Ramaphosa directly.
“Ramaphosa, send the buses here. We need to go home. We are tired of sleeping outside,” they said.
The Malawian ministry confirmed the operation is running against the backdrop of vigilante attacks targeting foreign nationals in parts of South Africa.
Pictured above: Thousands of Malawian nationals remain camped at Sherwood Hall in Durban while waiting for transport home.
Image source: Malawi government
