Police fired stun grenades at a group of Malawian nationals who allegedly turned on home affairs officials at the encampment in Sherwood Park in Durban on Wednesday.Police fired stun grenades at protesting Malawian nationals who allegedly turned on home affairs officials at the Sherwood Park on Wednesday. The foreigners are protesting about being moved to the Durban Drive-Inn where a new deportation centre will be set up. 📹: supplied pic.twitter.com/4KO48bWdGF— Yasantha Naidoo (@NaidooYasantha) June 17, 2026
The foreigners are protesting about being moved from the site to the Durban Drive-Inn where a new deportation centre will be set up. About 10,000 Malawians sought refuge at the park a week ago, sparking health and safety concerns. Ward councillor Warren Burne said it quickly emerged the Sherwood Hall and park would not be sufficient to accommodate the rising number of immigrants.eThekwini mayor Cyril Xaba, who visited the encampment on Tuesday, said the government had stepped in to accelerate the deportation process to unlock bottlenecks and speed up the processing of cases.The process was initially led by Malawian authorities, who were facilitating voluntary repatriation.“However, after it became evident progress was slower than anticipated, the government assumed responsibility and initiated a formal deportation process.“Under SA immigration laws, deportation requires each undocumented foreign national to be processed individually before a court.”eThekwini councillor Imtiaz Syed said while virtual courts were initially deployed, the Malawians will be moved to the old Durban Drive-Inn site, which is closer to the court. Groups of 70 people will appear before court to ensure compliance with due process and the protection of constitutional rights. Once these legal requirements have been met, deportation can proceed.The municipality said four buses carrying deportees have departed the site en route to Malawi.This is a developing story. TimesLIVE
