Malawian National Describes Sanitary Conditions Sherwood Hall, Says He Hasn’t Bathed in 7 Days

• Thousands of Malawian nationals are camping at Sherwood Hall in Durban ahead of repatriation
• A 25-year-old described the living conditions at the site, as more people gather there every day
• March and March has given undocumented foreign nationals until 30 June 2026 to leave the country

Byron Pillay, a Briefly News journalist, has dedicated a decade to reporting on the South African political landscape, crime, and social issues. He worked as a newspaper journalist for 10 years before transitioning to online.

KWAZULU-NATAL – A Malawian national has described the conditions at the overcrowded Sherwood Hall site in Durban, saying that he had not had a bath in seven days.

The 25-year-old is one of thousands of Malawian nationals who are camped outside the hall in Durban as they await repatriation. The Malawian government is working to repatriate the nationals ahead of 30 June 2026, which is the deadline given to undocumented foreign nationals to leave the country.

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March and March, which is spearheading the calls for illegal immigrants to go back to their homes, have also called for a national shutdown on 30 June.

Malawian national describes situation at Sherwood Hall

Having lived in South Africa for the past two years, the 25-year-old said that some people were good to him, while others treated foreign nationals poorly.

He also discussed the situation at the Sherwood Hall site, describing the worsening sanitary situation. He explained that while he had only been there from 10 June 2026, there were others who were there from the beginning of the month.

“We have water and food, but there are too many people here, so when it comes to sanitation, it's very poor."

He explained that the camp smelt of urine and sweat and that the toilets were dirty and the meals were repetitive. The 25-year-old added that the situation was growing worse as more people gathered at the site.

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Malawian national praises law enforcement

The 25-year-old also praised law enforcement officials for protecting those gathered at Sherwood Hall, saying that South Africans were keeping them safe.

“We're angry with our government. We can’t say we're angry with South Africa. We need our government to help us, while these South Africans are helping to keep us safe," he explained.

He added that they just wanted to leave the country, as tensions grow between them and anti-illegal immigration groups, and the 30 June deadline looms. Some members of the group also clashed with police on 17 June 2026, as frustration and anger boiled over at the site.

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Angry Malawians clash with Ngizwe Mchunu

Briefly News reported that the South African Police Service was on high alert after Ngizwe Mchunu and March and March members sparked anger.

Mchunu, March and March members were present at the Sherwood Hall site, where Malawians were camped out ahead of repatriation.

South Africans took to social media to weigh in on the comments by Malawian nationals and the actions of Mchunu.

Source: Briefly News