There have been riots where stones were thrown at the staff of the Ministry of Home Affairs, the police as well as the staff of the embassy of Malawi yesterday, when the people of that country protested in Sherwood, Durban, complaining about the “arrest” of their colleagues.
It was necessary for the police to fire rubber bullets and tear gas to disperse the group that was fighting, demanding the release of “those who were arrested”. What caused confusion is that Malawians thought they were being arrested by their colleagues when they saw them being put in vans of the Ministry of Home Affairs to be taken to court.
Mr Cyril Mncwabe, the head of the Department of Home Affairs in KwaZulu-Natal, said that since the repatriation program for the Malawians in the Sherwood hall is slow, there is a need for another program for them to be taken to court to appear before the magistrate to be repatriated to their country.
“If you are sent back to your country, you need to appear before a magistrate which is a process that is followed by law. Because the Malawi government’s plan to pick up people is slow, those who were protesting thought that these people were put in vans because they were going to be arrested and taken to Lindela, which is the center where those who are sent back to their countries are kept,” he said.
He said they are busy with the plan to take them to court so that they can be returned to Malawi. He lamented that there are buses that bring people every day and said that they are making plans to install a telephone to monitor the incoming and outgoing people so that they can see the work they are doing to return the Malawians to their country.
As this happens, the government of Malawi has asked for funding to be able to increase the number of buses that will transport those returning to the country. He stated that there are 10,000 people waiting to return to their country and you do not have enough money to do this. A Malawian pastor who is wanted for corruption and money laundering in the country, Shepherd Bushiri wrote on Facebook that he will sponsor 10 buses, which will bring Malawians back to their country.
Meanwhile, ActionSA rejects the idea that immigrants who are sent back to their countries, are kept in the facilities of the Thekwini Municipality. This group denied that people were taken to the Tills Crescent stadium because of the government’s failure to solve the problem of illegal immigrants.