‘If I am to die, let it be here’: Malawians fleeing unrest in South Africa

Luchenza, Malawi – When Janet Kapito left Lolo village for South Africa in 2022, she hoped to save enough money to buy land and build a house back home in Malawi. Instead, the 27-year-old mother of three has returned with her eight-month-old baby and little else after fleeing anti-foreigner violence. Even the few belongings she managed to carry were stolen aboard one of the buses ferrying Malawians home ahead of the June 30 deadline. “I was staying indoors after the protests started and I could not work,” Kapito told Al Jazeera. Standing beside the unfinished foundation of the house she had hoped to build with her earnings, Kapito said she made 2,000 rand a month working at a restaurant owned by a Nigerian. She spoke softly, her voice barely audible. She said the dust from the open field where she had fled during the attacks had affected her throat. Her Malawian husband, whom she met in South Africa, is still on his way home. With no money left, Kapito received 70,000 Malawian kwacha (about $40) after arriving at Kamuzu Stadium, where returnees are being processed before travelling to their home districts. Fleeing with nothing The Malawi government is facilitating the return of thousands of its citizens, many of whom have worked for years in South Africa’s informal sector. Well-wishers have also raised money to help bus stranded Malawians back home. …