Blantyre, Malawi, April 14 (MaraviPost) _ The Malawi government plans to repatriate at least 400 of its citizens stranded in South Africa following continued xenophobic attacks in that country, government spokesman Kondwani Nankhumwa has said.
“We have set aside 30 million Malawi kwacha (about US $7m) for the exercise,” he said.
Nankhumwa, who is also Minister of Information, said the exercise will be voluntary. He said Lilongwe is currently in discussion with Pretoria to arrange temporary travel papers for the stranded Malawians because most of them lost their passports.
“Most of them fled with literally nothing to safe camps,” he said. “We are currently working on the figure 400 but the numbers will swell since some
Malawians are in hiding. Our embassy is currently doing physical registration.”
Many Malawian young men trek to South Africa in search of work.
Attacks on foreigners, mainly from Malawi, Zimbabwe, Somalia, Ethiopia and Democratic Republic of the Congo, begun reportedly following remarks by King Goodwill Zwelithini that foreigners must pack up and go home. The influential traditional leader has since distanced himself from the remarks that were roundly condemned by South African Home Affairs Minister Malusi Gigaba.-maravipost
