Malawian jumps in front of train to avoid repatriation after surviving attacks in SA

Malawian man aged 23 is reported to have jumped in front of a train and was killed in Durban, South Africa in a bid to avoid repatriation back home after surviving anti-migrants attacks.

South Africa’s newspaper, Daily Sun, reported on Wednesday that the man threw himself in front of a moving train after hearing that he will be taken back to impoverished Malawi.

Hundreds of shocked commuters at Westcliff Train Station, outside Chatsworth could only watch in horror as the wheels of steel sliced his body into pieces, reported the Daily Sun.

The paper said the incident happened only a few hours after Zulu King Goodwill Zwelithini called for peace at Moses Mabhida Stadium on Monday. The Malawian had been housed along with 2 000 other foreigners at Chatsworth displacement camp.

According to Police spokesman Major Thulani Zwane, the Malawia was declared dead at the scene after he was badly hurt.

Zwane requested that the dead man’s name should not published because his relatives have not yet been informed.

“We’re trying to track down his family. It’s unclear at this stage if he had been processed by Home Affairs for repatriation, or if he was waiting to be reintegrated into the community,” said Zwane.

However, the paper’s source said the young man had told them earlier he would rather die than go back to poor Malawi.