A total of 151 Kenyan citizens have been transferred back from South Africa due to the wave of xenophobic violence that has been shaking the country for weeks, in parallel to large-scale marches against irregular migration that have led neighboring countries to activate return plans for their nationals.
The Prime Minister and Cabinet Secretary for Foreign Affairs and Diaspora, Musalia Mudavadi, has detailed the provisional figure of repatriated persons, distributed in four contingents: 61, 26, and 17 Kenyans landed in Nairobi on June 30, to which a fourth group of 47 was added on July 1, within the framework of an operation coordinated by the Kenyan High Commission in Pretoria that will conclude next Tuesday.
At the beginning of this week, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Diaspora reported that more than 200 Kenyans had taken refuge in the Kenyan High Commission in Pretoria while awaiting their evacuation. However, the Ministry itself has pointed out that those requesting return represent only a small part of the approximately 27,000 Kenyans who reside and work in South African territory.
Last Tuesday, the main cities of South Africa were the scene of massive protests in which thousands of people participated, many of them dressed in traditional Zulu attire and carrying whips and batons, to demand the expulsion of Ugandan, Zimbabwean, Nigerian, or Mozambican migrants, whom they hold responsible for the difficulty in accessing employment in a country with an unemployment rate of 32%.
"The escalation of hostile acts can be regrettable. Kenya expresses its confidence in the continued protection of its nationals, along with all other persons under the jurisdiction of South Africa," lamented the Ministry in a statement published this week.
In response to the growing tension, South African President Cyril Ramaphosa has ordered the deployment of more than 3,000 soldiers for one month throughout the country with the aim of preserving order in the face of mobilizations that are expected to be repeated weekly.