Malawi Returnees Arrive Without Possessions After Fleeing South Africa

Upon disembarking from the bus at a soccer stadium in eastern Malawi, Iweni Pachulu fell to his knees in prayer. After a harrowing three-day journey with 60 others escaping a wave of anti-migrant protests in South Africa, he had finally made it home.

He carried with him only a few belongings salvaged from his four-year stint in the continent’s largest economy—a plastic bag and a backpack filled with clothes. The 26-year-old shop worker underwent a health screening and received funds for transportation to Machinga, a village situated 170 kilometers (106 miles) away.

“I return with almost nothing. I’m uncertain how I’ll rebuild, but at least I’m alive,” he articulated. “The items I purchased in South Africa, intending to send money back home, were left behind. There wasn’t enough time to gather everything. My priority was to save my life.”

Pachulu is among tens of thousands of Black Africans displaced from South Africa—either deported or fleeing in fear—as protesters marched through cities, even going door-to-door demanding that migrants depart. They blame foreigners for worsening high unemployment rates and inadequate government services.

Read: More than 53,000 foreigners deported or repatriated in the crackdown on illegal migration

In reaction to the protests, the government has intensified enforcement against undocumented migrants. While citizens are urged not to take the law into their own hands, authorities have struggled to control outbreaks of violence and looting, resulting in at least four fatalities.

South Africa, known for its vast and diverse economy, has always drawn migrants from impoverished and conflict-affected nations.

Since 2000, many Zimbabweans have crossed the border following a failed land reform that prompted a long-lasting economic crisis. In contrast, Malawi suffers from some of the highest poverty rates in the world.

Although xenophobic tensions targeting Black African migrants flare up occasionally, the current protests have been particularly organized and sustained.

Waiters, drivers

Protesters contend that the government has not done enough to generate jobs in a country where one in three people is unemployed, expressing frustration over the large number of undocumented migrants working as waiters, delivery drivers, and in construction.

In addition, they have voiced concerns about overcrowded schools and overloaded public health facilities.

Organizations like March and March have set a self-imposed deadline of June 30 for all undocumented migrants to leave, culminating in nationwide protests on that date. Demonstrations continue every Thursday, albeit on a smaller scale.

While the most recent census estimated 2.4 million foreign-born individuals in the country of 63 million, the government claims it lacks accurate data concerning the undocumented migrant population, indicating that the numbers may be significantly higher.

Read: South Africa bracing 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 departed from South Africa. Mozambique, Uganda, Nigeria, and Ghana have facilitated the repatriation of their nationals via bus or plane.

Many returnees had been sending remittances back home, supporting families in regions facing fewer job opportunities and widespread poverty.

On August 7, the European Union announced a donation of $345,000 in humanitarian assistance “to help support the increased number of Zimbabwean returnees fleeing violence in South Africa” amid a cholera outbreak.

In the first half of this year, Zimbabweans working in South Africa sent back $420 million, according to government data. The South African central bank reported that Malawians transferred around $128 million in 2024, although due to exchange controls, a significant portion of this financial flow remains unmonitored. The government of Malawi does not provide data on remittances.

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

Shattered dreams

Now, many who have returned are grappling with the decision of whether to attempt returning to South Africa or to confront the grim realities of making a living in their home country.

In Malawi, 47% of the approximately 22 million population lives below the government’s poverty line of 1,563 kwacha per day, which equates to less than a dollar at the official exchange rate and even less at the more commonly used parallel-market rate.

“I was working as a domestic worker, sending money back home. My dream was to build a house,” Grace Magombo recounted after 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 of my own. I have no foundation to rebuild upon,” lamented the mother of three boys.

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

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

In a national address, President Cyril Ramaphosa conveyed empathy for the populace’s frustrations. Justice Minister Mmamoloko Kubayi noted that foreign workers often face exploitation by unscrupulous employers while advising against vigilantism.

In addressing the issue late last month, she emphasized that some South Africans who looted foreign-owned properties were 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,” stated Chrispin Phiri, spokesperson for South Africa’s Department of International Relations and Cooperation.

“We have consistently asserted that the responsibility lies with Home Affairs,” he remarked, adding that incidents of violence are “extremely 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 carried out on August 5 by Afrobarometer, 32% of South Africans expressed a desire to keep foreign job seekers out of the country, securing South Africa the second spot only behind Madagascar in a study across 38 African nations.

However, while prospects in Malawi remain limited, many returnees hesitate to consider going back to South Africa because of the growing animosity they face.

“I wasted two years in South Africa. I will never return to that country,” asserted Pichesi Pachulu, who traveled back on the bus with his brother Iweni. “South Africa has numerous opportunities, but the people are difficult.”

Others, however, are uncertain.

“If conditions improve, I might consider going back. My employer in South Africa suggested that I take a break and return when things settle,” said 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 more opportunities than Malawi. I believe I will eventually return, for my family’s well-being.”

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