The first plane carrying Malawian nationals fleeing South Africa’s latest wave of xenophobic violence touched down in Lilongwe this morning. Sources confirm at least 200 people are aboard, with more flights scheduled in the coming days. The repatriation follows days of attacks on foreign-owned shops and homes in Johannesburg and Durban, which have left at least five dead and hundreds displaced.
Malawi’s Foreign Ministry, in a statement released overnight, said the government is “deeply concerned” for its citizens and has activated emergency consular services. The UK, meanwhile, is quietly pushing Commonwealth partners to issue a joint condemnation of the violence, though diplomats admit the bloc is divided on how to respond.
Documents obtained by this desk show British High Commission officials in Pretoria have been monitoring the situation since the first reports of unrest on Monday. Internal cables describe “a climate of fear” in townships where foreign nationals have been targeted. The UK’s preferred response is a Commonwealth statement urging South Africa to protect migrants and address the root causes of xenophobia a move that would require consensus from member states, including India and Nigeria.
But the politics are complicated. South Africa’s government has already accused foreign nationals of fueling crime and taking jobs, a narrative that resonates with many voters ahead of next year’s elections. President Cyril Ramaphosa, facing a rebellion within his own party, has so far limited his response to a tepid call for “calm and dialogue.”
Meanwhile, the human cost mounts. I spoke to a Malawian woman named Grace at the airport in Johannesburg. She had been selling vegetables on a street corner in Soweto when a mob torched her stall on Tuesday. “They said we are stealing their jobs,” she told me, clutching a plastic bag containing all her belongings. “But who will buy my tomatoes now?” She is one of the lucky ones. Others remain trapped in hostels and informal settlements, too afraid to venture out.
This is not a new story. South Africa has seen periodic eruptions of xenophobic violence since the end of apartheid, targeting migrants from Malawi, Zimbabwe, Somalia, and other African nations. But the scale of the current attacks this is the worst since 2015 suggests something has shifted. Unemployment is at 32 per cent. The economy is stagnant. And politicians are increasingly willing to scapegoat foreigners to distract from their own failures.
The UK’s push for Commonwealth unity may be well-intentioned, but it risks being seen as hollow posturing. London has its own immigration controversies, from the Rwanda deportation plan to a Home Office that deports Commonwealth citizens who overstay their visas. Hypocrisy? You bet.
For now, the focus is on getting people out. Malawi’s government has chartered four flights, funded by a loan from the African Development Bank. The UK has pledged £500,000 in humanitarian aid. But no amount of emergency cash can fix the broken politics that made this crisis inevitable. The Commonwealth will meet next week in London. The question is whether they will do more than issue a statement.
My source inside the South African police tells me the attacks are being orchestrated by a shadowy group of former liberation struggle veterans. Follow the money. Someone is bankrolling the mobs. I’m looking into it.
