FRESH SEPT 30 DEADLINE FOR FOREIGNERS SPARKS NEW EXODUS, OVER 129,000 ZIMBABWEANS ALREADY BACK HOME
JOHANNESBURG – Panic has gripped foreign nationals in South Africa a day after anti-immigration group March and March issued a new September 30 deadline for all undocumented foreigners to leave, with Zimbabwe already accounting for the largest number of returnees.
By early September, 129,000 Zimbabweans had voluntarily repatriated, according to Zimbabwe’s Chronicle newspaper, while the Zimbabwean government says more than 78,000 had returned by early July.
Information Minister Zhemu Soda said the state had repatriated 21,291 nationals through assisted arrangements since May 28, while a further 56,832 returned independently, bringing the total to over 78,000 at that time. By July 10, the figure had risen to 99,418, and government said it was preparing for up to 70% of the estimated 2 million Zimbabweans in South Africa to return.
The new deadline was announced Monday outside the 46th SADC Summit in Durban under the theme “It’s time to fetch your people”.
“We are announcing the second wave… which will be the mother of all protests,” March and March said, urging South Africans to “remain the eyes and ears of the police against any illegal foreigners.”
The June 30 deadline triggered a mass exodus.
More than 160,000 foreign nationals fled, including over 108,000 Zimbabweans and more than 46,800 Malawians. South Africa’s Inter-Ministerial Committee says it processed 86,596 foreign nationals for deportation and repatriation between June 14 and August 20.
Government has set up a 24-hour command centre at Beitbridge, deployed 50 ZUPCO buses, and opened reception centres offering registration, psychosocial support and emergency clinics.
President Cyril Ramaphosa said: “We are deeply ashamed that people from other countries have suffered ill-treatment.”
Police say March and March’s deadline has no legal force, but migrants told Al Jazeera: “They are scapegoating us as foreigners. It is not going to end on September 30.”