South Africa processes over 53,000 foreigners for deportation, repatriation

JOHANNESBURG, July 123 — South Africa has processed more than 53,000 foreign nationals for deportation or government-facilitated repatriation as it steps up efforts to manage irregular migration, a senior official said Sunday.

Speaking at a media briefing of the Inter-Ministerial Committee on Migration in Pretoria, Minister of Justice and Constitutional Development Mmamoloko Kubayi said that as of Saturday, 53,449 foreign nationals had been processed for deportation or repatriation.

Malawians accounted for more than 80 percent of the total, followed by Zimbabweans and Mozambicans, said Kubayi, who chairs the committee.

Repatriations to countries outside the Southern African Development Community totaled 2,615, comprising 1,159 Nigerians, 939 Ugandans, 431 Kenyans and 86 nationals of the Republic of the Congo, she said.