Malawi Returnees Arrive Displaced After Fleeing South Africa

After a grueling three-day bus journey alongside 60 other migrants escaping a wave of anti-migrant protests in South Africa, Iweni Pachulu reached a soccer stadium in eastern Malawi and instinctively knelt to pray. He was finally home.

With only a handful of essentials gathered over his four years in Africa’s largest economy—a plastic bag and a backpack filled with clothes—this 26-year-old shop worker underwent a health check and received financial assistance to travel to Machinga, a village situated 170 kilometers (106 miles) away.

“I come back with nearly nothing. I’m not sure how I will rebuild my life, but at least I’m alive,” he explained. “Everything I sent back from South Africa is gone. I had no time to collect my belongings; my priority was to save myself.”

Pachulu is one of tens of thousands of Black Africans who have been uprooted from South Africa—either through deportation or pressure—following protests where demonstrators have gone door-to-door urging migrants to depart, blaming foreigners for job scarcity and the lack of adequate government services.

Read: Over 53,000 foreigners have been deported or repatriated amid the crackdown on illegal migration.

In response to these protests, the government has tightened restrictions on undocumented migrants. While citizens are cautioned against taking the law into their own hands, authorities have struggled to prevent violence and looting, resulting in at least four fatalities.

Historically, South Africa, known for its diverse and vibrant economy, has served as a refuge for migrants from impoverished and conflict-stricken nations.

Since 2000, numerous Zimbabweans have crossed the border due to failed land reforms that initiated a prolonged economic crisis. In the meantime, Malawi faces some of the highest poverty rates globally.

Though instances of xenophobic tensions toward Black African migrants occasionally arise, the recent protests have been notably organized and relentless.

Waiters, drivers

Protesters allege that the government has fallen short of creating enough job opportunities in a country where one in three people is unemployed, expressing discontent over the number of undocumented migrants employed as waiters, delivery drivers, and in construction.

Concerns also arise regarding overcrowded schools and strained public health systems.

Organizations like March and March have set a self-imposed deadline of June 30 for all undocumented migrants to depart, culminating in nationwide protests on that date. Smaller demonstrations persist every Thursday.

Although a recent census estimated around 2.4 million foreign-born individuals out of a total 63 million population, the government asserts it lacks precise data on the undocumented migrant population, suggesting that actual figures may be significantly higher.

Read: South Africa braces for anti-immigrant shutdown on June 30.

Zimbabwe has reported over 100,000 of its nationals returning, while more than 53,000 Malawians have also left South Africa. Mozambique, Uganda, Nigeria, and Ghana have actively assisted in repatriating their citizens by bus or plane.

Previously, many returnees sent remittances home to support families in regions with scant job prospects and widespread poverty.

On August 7, the European Union announced a humanitarian aid donation of $345,000 to aid the growing number of Zimbabwean returnees escaping violence in South Africa, particularly during a cholera outbreak.

According to government statistics, Zimbabweans working in South Africa sent back $420 million in the first half of this year. Meanwhile, the South African central bank recorded that Malawians transferred approximately $128 million in 2024; however, due to exchange controls, much of this financial flow remains undocumented. The government of Malawi does not provide remittance statistics.

Read:
Conditions for Zimbabweans in South Africa have shifted…
The UK has now become the leading source of remittances to Zimbabwe, surpassing South Africa.

Shattered dreams

Now, many returnees confront a difficult choice between trying to return to South Africa or facing the grim realities of making a living in their home country.

In Malawi, 47% of roughly 22 million inhabitants live below the government’s poverty line of 1,563 kwacha per day, equivalent to less than a dollar at the official exchange rate and even less at the widely used parallel-market rate.

“I worked as a domestic helper, sending money home. My dream was to build a house,” recounted Grace Magombo upon disembarking from the bus, explaining that she left her vegetable-selling business in Malawi to join her husband in South Africa at the beginning of 2025.

“That dream has been shattered. I return with nothing, no place to call my own. I have no foundation to rebuild upon,” sorrowfully stated the mother of three sons.

Anti-immigrant sentiments have escalated in South Africa, and with critical local elections approaching in November, political factions such as Action SA, the uMkhonto weSizwe Party, and the Patriotic Alliance have openly backed increased deportations.

Conversely, the ruling party, the African National Congress, has largely refrained from criticizing the protests.

During a national address, President Cyril Ramaphosa acknowledged the public’s grievances. Justice Minister Mmamoloko Kubayi pointed out that foreign workers often face exploitation by unscrupulous employers while urging against vigilantism.

Addressing the issue last month, she emphasized that South Africans who looted properties owned by foreigners have been apprehended.

Read: Fleeing migrants leave hard-to-fill gaps in South Africa’s struggling economy.

“The government has never endorsed citizens taking the law into their own hands,” declared Chrispin Phiri, spokesperson for South Africa’s Department of International Relations and Cooperation.

“We have always maintained that the responsibility lies with Home Affairs,” he added, expressing that incidents of violence are “deeply regrettable.”

A study conducted in May by South Africa’s Human Sciences Research Council indicated a significant rise in anti-migrant sentiments among almost all but the wealthiest South Africans since the late 2010s.

In an Afrobarometer survey on August 5, 32% of South Africans expressed a desire to restrict foreign job seekers from entering the country, placing South Africa second only to Madagascar in a study encompassing 38 African nations.

Nonetheless, despite the limited prospects in Malawi, many returnees are hesitant to contemplate a return to South Africa due to the increasing hostility they encounter.

“I wasted two years in South Africa. I will never return to that country,” asserted Pichesi Pachulu, who traveled home by bus with his brother Iweni. “South Africa may present many opportunities, but the people are unfriendly.”

Others remain undecided.

“If conditions improve, I might think about going back. My employer in South Africa suggested I take a break and return when things settle down,” shared shop worker James Wahela, who has been sending money back to his wife in a district near Malawi’s commercial hub, Blantyre.

“The reality is that South Africa offers better opportunities than Malawi. I believe I will eventually find my way back for the sake of my family.”

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