{"id":37676,"date":"2026-06-22T07:43:17","date_gmt":"2026-06-22T05:43:17","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.channelafrica.co.za\/channelafrica\/?post_type=news&#038;p=37676"},"modified":"2026-06-22T12:14:30","modified_gmt":"2026-06-22T10:14:30","slug":"sa-repatriations-rise-as-government-closes-migrant-shelter","status":"publish","type":"news","link":"https:\/\/www.channelafrica.co.za\/channelafrica\/news\/sa-repatriations-rise-as-government-closes-migrant-shelter\/","title":{"rendered":"SA repatriations rise as government closes migrant shelter"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>Justice Minister Mmamoloko Kubayi confirmed the update during a visit to a newly established temporary facility in Durban on Sunday. The visit included Deputy International Relations Minister Thandi Moraka, Malawi High Commissioner Stella Ndau and Acting National Police Commissioner Puleng Dimpane.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>The new site, located near North Beach, was opened by the eThekwini Municipality to relieve pressure on the Sherwood Community Centre, where thousands of displaced migrants had been sheltering for more than two weeks.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>Authorities say the facility is part of a coordinated response to process displaced individuals and facilitate voluntary returns. \u201cWe are closing Sherwood completely. This is a temporary repatriation centre,\u201d Kubayi said.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>Kubayi said the new site offers improved conditions, with more space to manage the verification and processing of migrants. \u201cIt is a better space; there is enough room for people to be processed according to their status and for those who want to go,\u201d Kubayi said.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>The relocation marks a shift in the government\u2019s strategy, moving from emergency sheltering to structured repatriation and documentation processes.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>&#8211;SABC\/ChannelAfrica&#8211;<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"featured_media":37677,"template":"","meta":{"_acf_changed":false},"news-type":[78,26],"class_list":["post-37676","news","type-news","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","news-type-featured","news-type-general_news","entry"],"acf":{"short_description":"South Africa\u2019s (SA) government says the number of undocumented Malawian nationals returned home has reached 5 000 as efforts intensify to manage displacement caused by recent unrest in the KwaZulu-Natal province.","published_date":"","news_description":"South Africa\u2019s (SA) government says the number of undocumented Malawian nationals returned home has reached 5 000 as efforts intensify to manage displacement caused by recent unrest in the KwaZulu-Natal province.","form_embed":"","author":"","image_caption":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.channelafrica.co.za\/channelafrica\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/news\/37676","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.channelafrica.co.za\/channelafrica\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/news"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.channelafrica.co.za\/channelafrica\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/news"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.channelafrica.co.za\/channelafrica\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/news\/37676\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":37678,"href":"https:\/\/www.channelafrica.co.za\/channelafrica\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/news\/37676\/revisions\/37678"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.channelafrica.co.za\/channelafrica\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/37677"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.channelafrica.co.za\/channelafrica\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=37676"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"news-type","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.channelafrica.co.za\/channelafrica\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/news-type?post=37676"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}