Picture: Illegal immigrants waiting to be deported/Generic
By STAFF REPORTER
29 June 2026 – The Inter-Ministerial Committee (IMC) said it has received progress reports from the NATJOINTS on the implementations of the comprehensive approach for managing migration as announced by the Republic of South Africa (RSA) president, Cyril Ramaphosa on 7 June 2026. The committee reaffirms the government’s commitment to managing irregular migration through lawful, coordinated and constitutional means.
The Minister of Justice and Constitutional Development, Mamoloko Kubayi said Ramaphosa established this committee to oversee the execution of the five-point strategy which includes a crackdown on violations of the law and deportation of undocumented foreign nationals, securing the borders through deployment of ground sensors, satellite monitoring and drones, strengthening of the country’s migration system, closing the gaps in laws and policies and working with other countries on the continent. Kubayi said they deal with progress made in these areas in greater detail below.
She further said they are making substantial progress with the deportation and repatriation of the foreign nationals across the affected provinces. Kubayi added that over and above the work that they have been undertaking in enforcing the immigration laws, mostly through deportations from the Lindela Repatriation Centre, several countries have come forward to offer the voluntary repatriation of their respective nationals.
“Among these are Malawi, Ghana, Nigeria, Mozambique and Zimbabwe, with Kenya and the Democratic Republic of Congo being the latest to make the request. As you are aware, the repatriation process is voluntary and requesting countries bear the primary responsibility for transportation cost and management of logistics in this regard.
“Under normal circumstances, the responsibility of the host country only involves verification and issuance of orders to leave. However, in certain circumstances the need does arise for financial and humanitarian assistance which is handled on a case-by-case basis,” she said.
Kubayi said as the people might have observed from the scenes in Sherwood and Che Guevara, Durban Drive-in, eMsunduzi areas in Kwa-Zulu Natal, the Malawian nationals’ situation had become untenable in terms of numbers and the humanitarian emergency that has arisen henceforth. She said to date (close of business – 25/06/20206), a total of 15 162 Malawian nationals have been processed for deportation and repatriation, and more are still undergoing the verification process for repatriation from various temporary repatriation centres in the country.
“Given the gravity of this situation and the need to expedite the deportation and repatriation of these foreign nationals, we have taken a decision to extend the jurisdiction of the Musina Refugee Reception Office in the Limpopo Province to also conduct verifications.
“We have as a result activated all logistics relating to the repatriation of foreign nationals in Musina. We will work with various stakeholders such as the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), International Organization for Migration (IOM), Red Cross, Feature Family, Musina Legal Advice Office (MLAO), Outreach foundation and Save the Children foundation to facilitate this process, including the Consul General of Malawi,” said Kubayi.
The Guardian 