By Charmaine Ndlela
Chaos erupted at Durban’s Sherwood Park on Wednesday after hundreds of Malawian nationals clashed with police during a protest over delays in their repatriation from South Africa.
Police fired stun grenades, tear gas and rubber bullets after tensions escalated when officials from the Department of Home Affairs attempted to move migrants into Sherwood Hall for document verification and processing.
The group, which has been camping at the site for weeks, is demanding direct transportation back to Malawi and has rejected plans to first transfer them to the Lindela Repatriation Centre.
According to eyewitness reporters, the situation spiralled out of control after Home Affairs officials addressed the crowd and urged them to enter the hall so verification processes could continue. The crowd refused and Chaos erupted as they started throwing stones, fighting police officials, demanding to be repatriated back to their country
Some protesters allegedly pelted police with objects, damaged vehicles and blocked nearby roads, while chanting: “No Lindela, we want to go straight home.”
Authorities have not yet confirmed whether there were injuries during the confrontation.
The unrest comes as frustration grows among the estimated 6,500 Malawian nationals currently gathered at Sherwood Park, with more reportedly arriving daily.
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According to government officials, many of those at the site are undocumented migrants seeking assistance to return home. However, Deputy Minister of Justice and Constitutional Development Andries Nel revealed that more than 1,800 people processed at the camp were found to have either invalid documentation or had overstayed their visas.
The situation has been further complicated by reports that the Malawian government is seeking donations to fund buses needed to transport its citizens back home.
The latest violence follows a visit by KwaZulu-Natal Premier Thamsanqa Ntuli to Sherwood Hall on Tuesday, where he warned that government was working to prevent the situation from developing into a humanitarian crisis.
Ntuli said a multi-departmental intervention involving Health, Social Development, Community Safety and law enforcement agencies had been established to manage the growing numbers at the site.
“We want to ensure that the people who are here are not adversely affected by being here in large groups, and that the people of eThekwini are also not affected by the presence of these large groups,” Ntuli said.
He said government was engaging with humanitarian organisations, local councillors and private sector stakeholders, some of whom had offered transport assistance.
“There is a private sector willing to donate buses. We are going to engage with that because we want to resolve this situation,” he said.
Ntuli argued that assisting undocumented migrants to return to their home countries should not be viewed as rewarding illegal immigration, but rather as a practical response to a complex humanitarian challenge.
The developments come amid heightened tensions around illegal immigration and growing anti-immigration mobilisation across parts of South Africa.
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Several organisations, including March and March and the Insizwa Ngobunsizwa Development Foundation, have set a 30 June deadline for undocumented foreign nationals to leave the country, warning of further action should their demands not be met.
President Cyril Ramaphosa has dismissed the ultimatum, insisting that immigration enforcement remains the responsibility of the state.
“The so-called 30th of June, in my view, is not an event that is even necessary because we are addressing the challenges that our people are facing,” Ramaphosa said following the June 16 commemoration on Tuesday.
He urged South Africans not to take the law into their own hands.
“No South African must take any action against any person from any of our African sister countries. That is the responsibility of government and government officials,” he said.
Ramaphosa warned that authorities would not tolerate efforts to create instability under the guise of addressing illegal immigration.
“We must not allow South Africans to be duped and to be misled by those who want to foster instability in our country. We will not allow that.”
Meanwhile, anti-illegal immigration activists marched in Lydenburg, Mpumalanga, on Wednesday, where they handed over a memorandum to the Department of Home Affairs demanding stricter enforcement of immigration laws and the vetting of foreign-owned spaza shops.
As the 30 June deadline approaches, uncertainty remains over what impact it may have on communities already grappling with growing tensions around migration, law enforcement and public services.
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