South African authorities have announced that they have already managed the voluntary departure of more than 53,000 foreign citizens, in the context of an escalation of xenophobic violence marked by persecution against immigrants.
As detailed from Pretoria by the Minister of Justice, Mmamoloko Kubayi, who also heads the interministerial committee on immigration and cited by the Bloomberg agency, the majority of people who have left the country are from Malawi, followed by nationals from Zimbabwe and Mozambique.
The current figure far exceeds, and more than doubles, the 25,000 foreigners who had left before June 30, the deadline set by xenophobic groups. More than 20,000 were returned to their countries of origin by July 1 through the Musina detention center, located on the border with Zimbabwe.
The South African Executive has announced that it will increase resources to facilitate the departure of immigrants, after several neighboring states refused to bear the cost of return trips. Other African countries, such as Nigeria, Uganda, Kenya, or the Republic of the Congo, have opted to charter planes to repatriate their citizens, the minister indicated.
Kubayi also reported an increase in buses to attend to the long queues of people gathering at repatriation centers, fearful of raids by xenophobic groups. At the same time, the minister emphasized that legislation will be applied against those who carry out "house-to-house" searches for immigrants.
So far, 205 criminal cases have been opened for intimidation, incitement to hatred, and other illegal behaviors, which have resulted in the arrest of 350 individuals. The Police are maintaining active investigations into groups organizing inspections and identity checks in different areas of the country.