Gift of the Givers Refuses To Leave CPT Repatriation Site Until the Last Migrants Are Safely Home
- Gift of the Givers has committed to staying on the ground at the Epping repatriation centre in Cape Town until every remaining migrant leaves
- Around 1,500 people are still waiting to be repatriated from the Epping site, with the humanitarian organisation providing basic necessities
- The Epping centre has since officially closed, with remaining foreign nationals being transported by bus to processing facilities in Musina, Limpopo
Source: Getty Images
WESTERN CAPE, CAPE TOWN - While authorities have officially shut down the Home Affairs repatriation site in Epping, Cape Town, Gift of the Givers is not going anywhere until the job is done.
The humanitarian organisation has been on the ground at the centre since last Sunday, providing food, clean water, sanitary packs, nappies, blankets and shelter to the migrants waiting to go home.
Jerome Williams from Gift of the Givers confirmed on 5 July 2026 that around 1,500 people remain at the site and that the organisation will stay until every last person has been safely repatriated.
What Gift of the Givers has been doing
Four tents were set up to house the men, while women and children were given space inside the Home Affairs office to sleep.
DON'T MISS IT: Stay Away From Fake News With Our Short, Free Fact-Checking Course. Join And Get Certified!
Hot meals, water, sanitary products, baby food, nappies and blankets were distributed throughout the week to keep people comfortable while they waited for their turn to be processed and transported.
The Epping centre handled a large volume of people over the past week before officially closing its doors. Those who still need to go through the repatriation process are being put on buses and transported to Musina in Limpopo, where a processing facility has been set up to handle the remaining caseload before people cross the Beitbridge border.
What started the mass repatriation
The scale of the repatriation across South Africa has been driven largely by the actions of the anti-illegal immigration movement March and March, which set a 30 June 2026 deadline for undocumented foreign nationals to leave the country.
The movement sparked widespread protests in cities across South Africa, with communities marching against undocumented immigrants and calling on the government to enforce immigration laws more strictly.
The pressure created by the marches and the looming deadline pushed tens of thousands of foreign nationals to leave, either voluntarily or through official deportation processes coordinated by the Department of Home Affairs, the Border Management Authority, and foreign embassies.
For many of those at Epping and other repatriation centres around the country, the decision to leave was not made lightly.
Families sold their belongings, left jobs and uprooted lives they had built in South Africa over many years. The situation also drew international attention, with some foreign governments stepping in to organise transport and financial assistance for their returning citizens.
Source: Getty Images
More on the repatriation front
Bus shortages slowed things down at the Musina repatriation centre in Limpopo, where thousands of Zimbabwean and Malawian nationals were waiting to cross the border.
A video circulating on X showed a house in Cosmo engulfed in flames, with a caption suggesting a landlord had threatened foreign tenants to leave.
A Zimbabwean family sold their car, furniture, and household belongings before leaving South Africa.
PAY ATTENTION: Follow Briefly News on Twitter and never miss the hottest topics! Find us at @brieflyza!
Source: Briefly News
