SAPS Intervenes to Prevent Stampede Among Desperate Malawian Nationals at Durban Repatriation Site

• Chaos erupted at the Durban Drive-In repatriation site, where thousands of Malawian nationals await repatriation processing
• Members of the South African Police Service were called out to the site, as migrants are becoming more desperate to leave
• South Africans took to social media to weigh in on the chaos at the repatriation site, sharing mixed reactions to the situation

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 – Members of the South African Police Service had to be on high alert at the Durban Driver-In as chaotic scenes also unfolded at the new repatriation site.

Thousands of Malawian nationals are based at the Drive-In site after they were moved from the Sherwood Hall grounds. Home Affairs officials are currently processing the foreign nationals, as the Malawian government continues to work on repatriating its citizens ahead of 30 June 2026.

Read also

Malawian official blames South Africa and Malawi for illegal immigration issues, social media reacts

The date is the unofficial deadline for illegal immigrants to leave the country. The deadline was given by March and March, which called for a national shutdown on the day. March and March has been leading numerous demonstrations across the country ahead of the deadline, calling on the government to do something about the undocumented foreign nationals in the country.

Chaotic scenes unfold at Drive-In site

With the 30 June deadline steadily approaching, Malawian nationals are desperate to leave South Africa, and that desperation has led to chaotic scenes. Police had to be called out to prevent such scenes on 22 June 2026, when a stampede almost broke out at the Drive-In site.

The stampede almost occurred after undocumented Malawians started pushing each other, eager to get to the front of the queue so that they could be processed first. It’s not the first time that police have had to deal with issues involving the Malawian migrants either. On Wednesday, 17 June 2026, violence erupted at the Sherwood Hall site as Malawian nationals clashed with police officers during a protest.

Social media users share mixed reactions to the news

Social media users weighed in on the incident, sharing varied reactions to it.

@musa_mansa said:

“Eish maar. I understand that this has to be done, but it completely breaks my heart.”

Read also

"We can't take this lightly": SA worried about possible 30 June riots as warnings grow

@Iam_Fusi agreed:

“This is really so sad.”

@GeoAnalist urged:

“Take these people home. How are they still here?”

@JabulaniShanga2 noted:

“I said so a week ago that there would be a stampede at that place if the government fails to act quickly. The situation is at a crisis point now, because they didn’t act quickly when the numbers were still low.”

@Mampumi stated:

“What a mess the ANC, Home Affairs, Border Management and government have created over the 32 years of not enforcing our immigration laws.”

@treehugger_7704 pondered:

“I wonder if it will become permanent refugee camps like most of them around the world.”

Other stories about Malawian nations in South Africa

Briefly News has covered several stories about the Malawian nationals who were camping outside a site in Durban.

• A Malawian national who was camping outside Sherwood Hall said that he had not had a bath in seven days.
• The Department of Home Affairs confirmed that several babies were born to Malawian nationals at Sherwood Hall.
• Home Affairs stated that no Malawian nationals at Sherwood Hall were linked to crime in South Africa.

Source: Briefly News