Trapped in South Africa holding camp

• 50% of foreigners in SA holding camps are Malawians

Half of the inmates at a South African holding facility waiting to be deported to their respective countries are Malawians.

Lindela Holding Facility in Johannesburg, which accommodates a maximum of 2 500 foreigners is holding 1 103 Malawians, according to a briefing document by the Malawi Consul General in South Africa during a meeting with Minister of Youth, Sports and Manpower Development Henry Mussa Weekend Nation has seen. Mussa visited the centre on September 2 2016.

Malawian citizens outnumber all other citizens at Lindela holding camp because they stay longer at the facility than all other nationals due to logistical challenges they face when they travel to Malawi by road. They pass through Zimbabwe and Mozambique which have their own policies and requirements for people traveling through their territories without proper travel document.

Initially, Malawians were being deported by air, but due to financial challenges being faced by the South African Department of Home Affairs, the department agreed with Malawi, Mozambique and Zimbabwe to start deporting their nationals by bus.

The last deportation by bus was done on December 27 2015 and due to financial problems no further deportation has been done. The South African government spends R1 million (K50 million) to deport 100 inmates to Malawi through an American Logistics Company called Bosasa, according to the document.

Deportation of inmates from Mozambique, Zimbabwe and Swaziland by bus is not a problem because they do not pass through other countries.

Most of the detainees at the centre are unskilled workers who have contravened immigration laws of the Republic of South Africa and are expected to be deported back to Malawi and other countries. Others are people who have committed various crimes in South Africa and are awaiting deportation, according to the document.

The inmates are held at the facility to afford the South African Department of Home Affairs time to organise deportations after screening them.

There are two types of repatriation: individual self-repatriation when the deportee has a ticket and is allowed to leave the camp.

The other type of repatriation is group self-repatriation which is costly as the escorting officials from other countries also have to be paid allowances.

Mussa’s purpose of the visit to the centre was to appreciate the issues of the holding facility after reading several confusing reports about it.

The camp was built to accommodate 5 000 people, but for ease of administration it holds a maximum of 2 500, says the document.

The detainees stay at the facility for a maximum of 90 days but the South African Home Affairs department can apply for an additional 30 days extension if they face logistical challenges to effect deportation.

Upon completion of the 120 days, the inmates are released and given 14 days to leave South Africa. Some 268 Malawians were among those who were repatriated on December 27 last year, after staying at the camp for 120 days. About 240 inmates are expected to be repatriated by the end of this month, according to the document.

Mussa was concerned with the number of Malawian inmates and the delay to repatriate them. He wanted to know if the inmates are separated from each other in terms of offences at the camp. They are not. Not even in the buses during repatriation, says the document.

Another camp—Bosasa Facility—also holds 57 alleged trafficked children (38 girls) in Rustenburg and 19 boys in Mafikeng, North West Province. They are all from Chilipa in Mangochi district.

Meanwhile, a case of three suspected child traffickers was opened at Rustenberg Court on August 3 2016 for the 57 boys and girls.

According to Mussa, the South African authorities want to use the girls as witnesses in the case against the driver of the van they were travelling in to South Africa.

According to the document, the majority of Malawians go to South Africa for employment because the R1 500 (MK75 000) per fortnight as minimum wage for a labourer is far much better than Malawi’s minimum wage of K18 000 per month.

Mussa said in an interview on Thursday his ministry would soon start pushing for the approved K19 000 minimum wage per month, but he pointed out that Malawi’s minimum wage could not be compared with that of South Africa which is a far much stronger economy.

On inadequate resources to repatriate the inmates, Mussa told the meeting, which included members of the management of the centre, that he would liaise with the Ministries of Home Affairs and International Cooperation to see how best they could assist.

But Mussa told the meeting that he has never seen any report on Lindela on his desk despite that there is an element of employment and youths being involved in illegal migration and crimes in South Africa.

Mussa was also briefed on the security issues at the camp. Although the facility is well secured and monitored 24 hours by well trained security personnel, sometimes there are cases of assault among the different nationalities on petty issues.

The document also said sometimes there are cases of attempted suicide due to frustrations.

Mussa told Weekend Nation in an interview on Thursday that his ministry would work with other stakeholders such as the Ministry of Home Affairs, Foreign Affairs and the Malawi Human Rights Commission to sensitise and build their capacity on how they can better deal with the labour issues and migration and sensitise the public to comply with immigration rules when travelling outside the country as well as on how to facilitate repatriation and daily monitoring of inmates in South Africa.

He, however, said government will continue to promote employment creation and income generating activities in the country.

In an interview yesterday, Home Affairs Minister Grace Chiumia said her ministry was doing everything possible to repatriate the Malawians being held at Lindela. She, however, discouraged Malawians from trekking down to South Africa without proper travel documents.

Fast Facts

• Malawians in the majority because they stay longer
• Passing through Zimbabwe and Mozambique poses challenges
• Last deportation was on December 27 last year by bus