Health crisis looms as thousands of migrants remain stranded at Sherwood
Home Affairs provincial manager Cyril Mncwabe said authorities were still processing thousands of people at Sherwood.
Plans to relocate thousands of Malawian nationals from Sherwood to a larger processing centre at the Durban Drive-In on the beachfront have been delayed, with authorities confirming that the new site is not yet ready to begin operations.
Between 6 000 and 7 000 Malawian nationals remain camped at Sherwood, where mobile offices and the local hall continue to be used to process individuals seeking voluntary repatriation or facing deportation.
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KwaZulu-Natal Premier Thami Ntuli said on Wednesday that the South African government had provided 10 buses to transport those who had already completed the verification process and were ready to return to Malawi.
However, he acknowledged that the process was moving slowly due to the large number of people requiring verification and documentation.
“The government of Malawi is not sending buses to assist the situation and that makes the process move at a snail’s pace,” Ntuli said.
Home Affairs provincial manager Cyril Mncwabe said authorities were still processing thousands of people at Sherwood while preparations continued for the Durban Drive-In site.
Mncwabe said 1 876 Malawian nationals had been found to have violated South Africa’s immigration laws, with offences including being undocumented, overstaying visas and possessing expired travel documents.
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He said all individuals undergo screening, including fingerprint verification by the South African Police Service, before deportation proceedings are initiated.
Authorities have not found evidence linking those processed for deportation to outstanding criminal cases or wanted-person databases, despite their immigration status.
To accelerate removals, priority courts have been established in Durban to fast-track immigration matters and deportation proceedings.
The prolonged delays and overcrowding at Sherwood have drawn criticism from immigration lawyer Craig Smith, who described the situation as evidence of broader failures in South Africa’s migration management system, arguing that the crisis reflects shortcomings in the government’s approach to migration and the treatment of foreign nationals.
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The Malawian High Commissioner in Pretoria, Stella Ndau, said her government was trying to expedite the process to avoid an imminent health crisis, adding that she was heartbroken to see mothers with newborn babies exposed to such conditions.
