DURBAN, KwaZulu-Natal — Local authorities and provincial stakeholders are intensifying a coordinated humanitarian response as more than 7,000 Malawians seeking refuge in Durban face worsening conditions in the Sherwood area. With the number of foreign nationals growing daily, engagements between government officials and community leaders are ongoing to manage the crisis and facilitate a smooth voluntary repatriation process.
The urgent situation in Sherwood has escalated over the past week, prompting high-level interventions. Senior provincial officials recently convened at the Sydenham police station to strategize a unified approach to the growing influx. During these engagements, the proposed strategy was discussed with Cyril Xaba, who emphasized that the primary focus must remain on the Department of Home Affairs speeding up the processing of paperwork, alongside the Malawian government expediting their side of the procedures.
Addressing the logistical challenges on the ground, a spokesperson for the Department of Home Affairs in KwaZulu-Natal provided an update on the department’s operational capacity. The spokesperson revealed that when the verification process commenced on the 10th of the month, only five immigration officers were initially deployed because the massive scale of the task was not fully understood at the time.
Recognizing the need for more resources, the department has since bolstered its ranks to handle the crisis. “We may not say with certainty that we have got enough manpower, but we are assessing the situation as we go with the option to bring more people to assist us,” the Home Affairs spokesperson stated. “I am now operating with close to 40 personnel, including 35 confirmed officers and backup from head office to assist with assessments and verifications in the province.”
Despite these administrative adjustments, Malawian nationals stationed at the camp are pleading for immediate intervention as living conditions continue to deteriorate. In response to the deepening crisis, the KwaZulu-Natal Premier is scheduled to visit the Sherwood site to assess the situation firsthand. Meanwhile, authorities are preparing to dispatch additional buses in the coming days to transport more individuals back to their home country.