Malawi rules out sending buses to ferry illegal immigrants at Lindera in South Africa

Government has ruled out sending buses to repatriate 759 Malawians held at Lindera camp in South Africa for breaching immigration laws.

Foreign Affairs ministry spokesperson Rejoice Shumba said the government decision not to send the buses was arrived at after noting that soon after the repatriation, the people go back to South Africa for economic reasons.

“As soon as we have brought them to Malawi, the next day they are off again to South Africa and the government cannot be wasting money,” she said.

She said the South African government might be arranging the repatriation of the inmates at Lindera some of whom have spent a year at the holding camp.

The statement by the ministry comes barely days after officials at Dedza Border Post sent back 19 Malawians who were going to South Africa without valid travel documents.

The statement by Shumba is in sharp contrast to what the Minister of Labour  Henry Mussa said recently that the government was discussing with their South African counterparts to release and bring back home the inmates.

Most Malawians go to South Africa, using unchartered routes, without valid travel documents, to run away from the harsh economic situation in Malawi.