"They Just Vanished": SA Bus Driver Tells Eerie Story About Repatriated Malawian Migrants
- A South African bus driver transporting repatriated Malawians shared a chilling account of passengers disappearing before reaching home
- The driver said the number of passengers who boarded never matched those who got off, with some reportedly dying on the bus
- South Africans online shared their own eerily similar stories from Limpopo and Mpumalanga
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Source: Getty Images
SOUTH AFRICA - A South African bus driver tasked with transporting repatriated Malawians back to their home country has shared a deeply unsettling account that has left many people online shaken.
The video, shared on X by @Knick_RSA on 8 July 2026, was filmed at what appears to be Mwanza in Malawi, showing buses parked in an open field where passengers had disembarked. Speaking in IsiZulu, the driver described something he said he could not easily explain.
Driver says some passengers 'vanish'
He said the number of people getting off the bus at stops never matched the number who had boarded. No one was seen getting off along the route, and yet by the time the buses reached their destination, the count was always short. Puzzled, he began asking passengers what was happening.
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The explanation he kept hearing was the same. Many of the migrants do not actually live in their hometowns anymore. As the bus drew closer to where they originally came from, they simply disappeared. He said he did not believe it at first, so he asked two more people separately and received the same answer both times.
The driver also mentioned that on several occasions, passengers had been found dead inside the buses, adding weight to a theory some were beginning to entertain quietly: that not everyone on board was truly alive to begin with.
Mzansi reacts to the strange tale
The post drew responses from people across South Africa who said the story was not as far-fetched as it sounded:
@TheJustCaused said:
"The story I have heard from Malawians especially coming from the region close to the border with Mozambique they are very strange. Even if I share them here I will sound crazy."
@LadyMpopi wrote:
"We used to hear many stories like this in the 90s when Zimbabweans would move around our villages in Limpopo selling second hand clothes."
@Patricia_Bantom shared:
"Is possible. Some people die in their villages and live somewhere they don't know. They moment they return to their village, they disappear."
@_Chanteh said:
"I've heard this story for many many years."
@Million4569712 added:
"This is true, happened to my girlfriend cousin, she dated a Malawian and guy disappeared when they were going to visit his family, she got there and the family told her that guy was long dead, but she lived with him in MP."
The post surfaced amid ongoing debate in South Africa around the repatriation of undocumented foreign nationals, with tensions around illegal immigration and xenophobia running high.
Malawian dies in bus on the way home
In related news, the South African Police Service launched a formal forensic investigation after a Malawian national tragically died aboard an official repatriation bus. The incident occurred shortly after the vehicle departed, forcing the driver to immediately turn around when the passenger suffered a fatal medical emergency ten kilometres into the cross-border journey.
Source: Getty Images
Home Affairs boosts repatriation efforts
Briefly News reported about the Department of Home Affairs’ accelerated efforts to repatriate Malawian nationals from South Africa amid rising anti-immigrant sentiments. With over 7,000 individuals already repatriated, the urgency to process the remaining migrants stems from escalating tensions and a looming deadline imposed by anti-immigrant groups.
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Source: Briefly News
