What was expected to be a journey to safety has ended in tragedy after two Malawian women died during the ongoing repatriation of citizens fleeing xenophobic attacks in South Africa.
DoDMA Commissioner Wilson Moleni told the media in Lilongwe that the first death occurred in Zimbabwe as the returnee traveled to Malawi, while the latest was recorded on Friday shortly after the woman crossed into Malawi at Mwanza Border.
“Sadly throughout this exercise we have lost two people both female and the second person passed away this morning after crossing Mwanza border,” he said.
DoDMA Commissioner Wilson Moleni said authorities are working with the Mwanza District Health Office to establish the cause of the latest death and gather further details surrounding the incident.
Moleni said the two deaths have occurred despite the repatriation exercise progressing successfully, with the number of returnees now exceeding the government’s initial target.
“We have surpassed our target of 15,000 returnees. We have now repatriated more than 21,000 Malawians and the exercise is still ongoing,” he said.
According to Moleni, the operation is being carried out jointly by the governments of Malawi and South Africa, with both countries providing transport for the returnees and he said development partners, the private sector and individual Malawians have also supported the exercise by providing buses and food.
He said the Malawi Government has so far allocated nearly K5 billion towards the exercise, while partners have contributed resources valued at close to K2 billion, bringing the total cost of the operation to about K7 billion.
Moleni also confirmed that there was an isolated incident at the Mwanza reception centre where some returnees turned violent after a delay in the disbursement of financial assistance.
He said police quickly restored order and security at the reception centre has since been reinforced to prevent similar incidents.
