Buses, flights and diplomatic rows. As anti migrant tensions rise in South Africa, Malawi, Ghana, Zimbabwe and Nigeria are pulling citizens out, while Pretoria insists there is no space for xenophobia.

A group of 150 Malawians who were repatriated from South Africa are due to arrive by road in their home country on Monday, amid growing worries about xenophobia, cbinews.tv reports.

The Malawian authorities say the move follows violence in South Africa’s Western Cape Province. Just over a week ago, there were reports of door to door intimidation, as well as the deaths of two Mozambicans in Mossel Bay.

According to a statement from Lilongwe, the Malawians were among a number of foreign nationals who had sought refuge in temporary camps in Mossel Bay.

They are not the only ones leaving. Ghana, Nigeria and Zimbabwe have also organised repatriation flights and transport after raising concerns about xenophobia in South Africa.

Anti migrant groups have told undocumented migrants to leave the country and have set 30 June as a deadline.

In a national address on Sunday aimed at easing tensions, South African President Cyril Ramaphosa announced a raft of new measures to crack down on illegal migration. But he also warned South Africans not to take the law into their own hands. He said there was no space for xenophobia, racism, sexism, Afrophobia or any other forms of intolerance in the country.

A group of 74 Zimbabweans arrived home on Sunday after being driven from Mossel Bay in transport organised by the Zimbabwean authorities. Some families with young children say they fled the Western Cape fearing for their safety.

At the end of last month, Ghana organised a repatriation flight from Johannesburg for nearly 300 of its citizens. Another group of about 680 more arrived in Ghana’s capital, Accra, at the weekend.

But the repatriations have sparked a diplomatic spat. On Saturday, South Africa’s Foreign Minister Ronald Lamola accused his Ghanaian counterpart of spreading misinformation about xenophobia in South Africa.

In a post on X, linking to an interview that Ghana’s Foreign Minister Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa gave to a news station in Accra, Lamola described what he heard as deeply disappointing.

Ablakwa told Joy News that he was proud of the solidarity Ghanaians had shown in supporting their fellow nationals. He also talked about reports of foreigners being killed after being attacked in South Africa and reiterated a call for the African Union to investigate what was happening.

In response, Lamola disputed that two Nigerians and five Mozambicans had died in separate acts of violence. On Ablakwa saying that a number of Ghanaians were being treated in hospital in South Africa after being attacked, Lamola said his government had no information of that nature whatsoever.

Ablakwa also said his government had asked South Africa to compensate the Ghanaians who had been repatriated for the property they had left behind.

As part of Ramaphosa’s plan to deal with illegal migration, the president said the deportation of undocumented migrants would be sped up. To help pay for the removals, South Africa is now looking into asking the various receiving countries for money to cover the cost, Deputy Home Affairs Minister Njabulo Nzuza told Radio 702.

Meanwhile, Nigeria has postponed the first planned evacuation flight for 270 of its citizens that was due to leave on Monday. Nigeria’s foreign affairs spokesperson Kimiebi Imomotimi Ebienfa said the evacuation has been rescheduled for Wednesday due to unforeseen logistical considerations.

Officials say more than 500 Nigerians have so far been screened and cleared for return as part of a wider government response to the anti migrant tensions in South Africa. Nigeria’s President Bola Tinubu has approved five evacuation flights in total, with screening and registration of affected citizens extended to Wednesday as authorities continue processing applicants, cbinews.tv reports.

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