Malawi Returnees Arrive Displaced After Fleeing South Africa

After a challenging three-day bus journey alongside 60 others fleeing a wave of anti-migrant protests in South Africa, Iweni Pachulu arrived at a soccer stadium in eastern Malawi and instinctively knelt to pray. He was finally home.

With just a handful of essentials he managed to collect during his four-year stint in Africa’s largest economy—a plastic bag and a backpack containing clothes—the 26-year-old shop worker underwent a health check and received financial support to make his way to Machinga, a village situated 170 kilometers (106 miles) away.

“I come back with virtually nothing. I’m unsure how I will rebuild my life, but at least I’m alive,” he shared. “Everything I sent back from South Africa is lost. There was no time to gather my belongings; my only focus was on saving my life.”

Pachulu is one of tens of thousands of Black Africans displaced from South Africa—whether through deportation or coercion—amidst protests that have seen demonstrators going door-to-door urging migrants to leave. They attribute rising unemployment and inadequate government services to foreigners.

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

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

Historically, South Africa, celebrated for its diverse and vibrant economy, has been a beacon for migrants from impoverished and conflict-stricken nations.

Since 2000, many Zimbabweans have crossed the border due to failed land reforms that sparked a prolonged economic crisis. Conversely, Malawi faces some of the world’s highest poverty levels.

While xenophobic tensions against Black African migrants occasionally flare up, the current protests have been particularly well-organized and persistent.

Waiters, drivers

Protesters contend that the government has failed to generate sufficient jobs in a country where one in three people is unemployed, voicing their frustration over the high number of undocumented migrants working as waiters, delivery drivers, and in construction.

Concerns have also been raised regarding overcrowded schools and strained public health systems.

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

Although the most recent census estimated approximately 2.4 million foreign-born individuals in a population of 63 million, the government claims it lacks precise data on the undocumented migrant population, implying that actual numbers could be significantly higher.

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

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

Many returnees previously sent remittances back home to support families in regions where job opportunities are scarce and poverty is rampant.

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

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

Read:
Conditions for Zimbabweans in South Africa have changed…
The UK has now emerged as the leading source of remittances to Zimbabwe, overtaking South Africa.

Shattered dreams

Now, many returnees face the difficult decision of either attempting to return to South Africa or confronting the stark realities of making a living in their home country.

In Malawi, 47% of the roughly 22 million inhabitants live below the government’s poverty line of 1,563 kwacha per day, which is 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,” Grace Magombo recounted after disembarking the bus, explaining that she had 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,” lamented the mother of three sons.

Anti-immigrant sentiments have escalated in South Africa, and with crucial local elections approaching in November, political groups such as Action SA, the uMkhonto weSizwe Party, and the Patriotic Alliance have openly endorsed intensified deportations.

Conversely, the ruling party, the African National Congress, has mostly refrained from condemning the protests.

During a national address, President Cyril Ramaphosa recognized the public’s frustrations. Justice Minister Mmamoloko Kubayi noted that foreign workers often face exploitation at the hands of unscrupulous employers while urging against vigilantism.

Addressing the matter last month, she stressed that South Africans who looted properties owned by foreigners have been arrested.

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

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

“We have consistently maintained that the responsibility lies with Home Affairs,” he continued, noting that instances of violence are “deeply regrettable.”

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

In a survey by Afrobarometer 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 across 38 African nations.

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

“I wasted two years in South Africa. I will never go back to that country,” stated Pichesi Pachulu, who traveled home on the bus with his brother Iweni. “South Africa may offer many opportunities, but the people are hostile.”

Others remain indecisive.

“If conditions get better, I may consider going back. My employer in South Africa suggested I take a break and return when things calm down,” shared shop worker James Wahela, who has been sending money back to his wife in a district close to Malawi’s commercial hub, Blantyre.

“The truth is that South Africa provides greater opportunities than Malawi. I believe I will eventually return, for the sake of my family.”

© 2026 Bloomberg