Over 1,400 African nationals repatriated from South Africa amid xenophobic tensions
Voluntary-return flights have arrived in Lagos, Accra, Lilongwe, and Harare since June 9 as activist groups press a June 30 deadline for undocumented foreigners.
Voluntary-return flights from South Africa have arrived in Lagos, Accra, Lilongwe, and Harare since June 9, repatriating Nigerians, Ghanaians, Malawians, and Zimbabweans as activist groups press a June 30 deadline for undocumented foreigners to leave the country. The Nigerian evacuation was ordered by President Bola Tinubu for citizens whose safety was at risk; the first chartered flight landed at Murtala Muhammed International Airport on June 11 with more than 1,000 Nigerians signed up for voluntary return. Ghana has repatriated approximately 1,000 citizens. A separate group of 171 Malawians arrived home on June 9 from temporary camps in the Western Cape.
For the African diaspora monitoring family members in South Africa, the practical signal is that consular evacuation channels are active and being run government-to-government, and that household documentation, employer continuity letters, and contingency travel routes should be prepared in advance of the June 30 marker.
Source: OkayAfrica Today in Africa June 11 evacuation coverage; OkayAfrica Today in Africa June 9 Malawian arrivals.