Diplomatic tension erupts as SA tells Malawi to reimburse deportation costs

South Africa has sparked a diplomatic storm after formally demanding that Malawi, Nigeria and Ethiopia reimburse part of the R292 million (about K29 billion) it has spent this year deporting undocumented migrants — with Malawians making up the largest share of those removed.

The explosive request follows a briefing to South Africa’s Parliamentary Portfolio Committee on Home Affairs, where director‑general Tommy Makhode admitted the department had budgeted just R60 million for deportations, only for costs to balloon nearly fivefold.

Makhode told MPs the repatriation drive sits outside South Africa’s legislative budget framework, forcing officials to raid unbudgeted allocations to keep operations running.

“We have not budgeted for this… So to date, this is what we’ve spent: R292 million,” he said.

Transport costs, he explained, have swallowed most of the money — prompting Pretoria to write formally to Lilongwe, Abuja and Addis Ababa through the Department of International Relations and Cooperation (Dirco), seeking cost recovery from the three governments.

Home Affairs figures show around 83 000 migrants were processed through the Lindela Repatriation Centre in Johannesburg, while a temporary facility in Musina, set up for R48 million, is now being scaled down.

Malawi’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs had not yet commented on whether it had received the demand or how it intends to respond, even as South African lawmakers raise fresh concerns about spiralling deportation costs.

In July, MPs warned that chartering transport and processing returnees was costing taxpayers over K1.3 million per person, fuelling anger over what critics say is an unsustainable and poorly managed repatriation system.