South Africans took to the streets yesterday to demonstrate against foreign nationals, with one incident involving a Malawian man, begging for food while being detained, highlighting the tense situation facing foreigners.
The man, who appeared to be in his 30s, repeatedly begged for food, saying, “I need to eat,” as eNCA TV broadcast the incident live from Germiston, a major metropolis within Greater Johannesburg.
The demonstrators ignored his plea and insisted that he states his nationality before police escorted him into a police van.
Another Malawian residing in Durban said yesterday evening that he had remained indoors since Tuesday for fear of being targeted.
“I went inside at around 5pm and I have not gone out since then. The situation today has been tense. Every foreigner is being targeted wherever they are found and, in some cases, beaten up,” he said.
He had no plans to leave South Africa soon, but changed his mind after witnessing demonstrations targeting foreigners.
We also spoke to several Malawians who are living in fear and hiding, but they declined to be identified.
However, a Malawian living in Cape Town, who agreed to be identified only by his first name Davie, said demonstrations in some areas were peaceful and businesses continued normally.
Despite the South African government declaring it a normal working day, demonstrators honoured their June 30 deadline by marching across cities and provinces to demand that foreigners leave the country.
In some parts of the country, workers stayed home, shops remained closed and buses were idle, according to Reuters.
Demonstrations also took place in the Western Cape, Mpumalanga and Pietermaritzburg and Johannesburg where most Malawians live.
In Pietermaritzburg, police fired rubber bullets to disperse some demonstrators.
The South African Broadcasting Corporation (Sabc) also reported that the situation in Kliptown, Soweto, turned violent.
Some shacks and shops allegedly belonging to foreign nationals were looted.
By yesterday, up to 10 000 Malawians, most of them camped at Musina in Limpopo Province, were waiting to be repatriated.
News24 of South Africa also reported that hundreds of others had been queuing at the Malawian Consulate in Johannesburg awaiting repatriation.
Meanwhile, the South African government has moved the repatriation camp from Durban to Musina in Limpopo Province to facilitate faster and more efficient repatriation through the Beitbridge Port of Entry.
Conditions for Malawians in the camps remain difficult, with many lacking basic necessities.
Sabc reported early in the morning yesterday that some Malawians have resorted to burning clothes to keep warm.
According to the Department of Disaster Management Affairs (Dodma), more than 15 000 Malawians had been brought home by Sunday.
However, when asked for the latest figures yesterday, as buses continued bringing more Malawians home, Dodma spokesperson Lucy Bandazi said she would provide an update, but had not done so by the time we went to press at 8 pm.
Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation Charles Nkhalamba advised us to wait for Dodma’s written update on the repatriation exercise.
