Ben Farmer Africa Correspondent, Durban

The Malawians had decided to sleep rough in a crowded and stinking park because they were too scared to stay at home.

In recent weeks, armed young men had been going door-to-door at migrants’ homes and businesses in Durban, telling them to get out of South Africa by the end of the month.

As the deadline looms, many fear such threats herald a repeat of the murderous anti-foreigner violence that has erupted in the country before.

Such is the anxiety that, this week, as many as 10,000 foreigners, mainly Malawians, have taken refuge in a park as they wait to be put on buses and deported.

The grass around the city’s Sherwood Hall has become a crowded and stinking humanitarian crisis, with thousands sleeping outside among piles of luggage.

Despite the filthy conditions, more arrive each day.

“On June 30, we don’t know what will happen, but we are not safe here,” explains Hojane Mhone.

The 35-year-old has been working undocumented in South Africa for five years but now wants to get out as soon as possible.

“They came to my door and said ‘When are you going?’ They took my fridge and my speaker,” he told the Telegraph.

“There’s a lot of people being chased. I have come here to be safe.

“People here have been attacked, so why are we still waiting for our buses?”

Many in the park say they fear a repeat of anti-foreigner riots that killed 62 people in 2008 and flared again in 2015 and 2019.

The World Health Organization has alleged that up to 10 Ethiopians and Mozambicans have already been killed in the country in recent weeks.

South Africa disputes that total, saying several of the deaths were due to organised crime, or are still under investigation.

“We are scared, that’s why we are here,” says Yunus Jafali, a 24-year-old undocumented builder from Malawi. “It’s not the first time they have done this. There was 2008 and 2015.”

As the continent’s economic powerhouse, South Africa has long attracted large numbers of migrant workers, particularly from nearby nations.

Poverty or chaos in neighbouring countries like Malawi, Lesotho, Zimbabwe and Mozambique have added to the numbers arriving.

The numbers in the country are contested, with official figures saying there are around 2.4 million migrants, and campaign groups claiming there are several times that.

But immigration has also long been blamed by many poor South Africans for the country’s high unemployment rate – around a third are currently without jobs.

Many also blame immigration for crime and the country’s failing public services.

Tensions have risen in recent months with a series of marches against illegal immigration led by a protest group called March and March. Anti illegal immigration campaigners have also set the June 30 deadline for undocumented migrants to leave.

Ghana, Malawi, Zimbabwe and Nigeria have all repatriated hundreds of nationals who decided to flee the country and have accused Pretoria of doing too little to curb xenophobic violence.

The tensions have reached the World Cup with many Africans refusing to support the South African team and celebrating when they lost their opening match against Mexico.

“You cannot mistreat Africa and still expect Africa’s full blessing on the world stage,” said Ibrahim Sannie Daara, spokesman for the Confederation of African Football, after the match.

South Africa’s justice minister this week said attacks on foreign nationals were damaging the country’s image and causing a backlash against its businesses overseas.

“A majority of South African artists perform on the continent, and many of them are seeing their gigs being cancelled,” she said.

Immigration is expected to be a key part of this year’s municipal election campaigns, as the ruling African National Congress (ANC) tries to halt a vote slide which saw it lose overall power in 2024.

South Africa’s Human Sciences Research Council recently reported polling showed the public “has become considerably more antagonistic towards immigrants over the last five years”.

Hostility is at its highest level since polling began in 2003 and more than three-quarters believe immigrants increase crime rates.

Cyril Ramaphosa, the president, has condemned vigilantism, but has vowed a crackdown on illegal immigration, including tougher border controls, speeding up deportations and fighting corruption.

By the end of the week, the makeshift camp around Sherwood Hall had begun to look like a detention centre as police set up a razor wire cordon and patrolled with shotguns.

Officials said those inside had to be processed by having their identities checked and being put before a court, before they were taken by bus back to Malawi.

“None of these people are legal, all of them are undocumented and illegal in this country,” South African home affairs official Cyril Mncwabe said.

As more people turned up at the site, Durban’s mayor announced the city would set up an overflow facility to ease overcrowding.

March on March was founded by a former local radio presenter called Jacinta Ngobese-Zuma.

“We can’t have South Africa being turned into a refugee site for all failed African states,” she told the BBC earlier this year.

“Every country prioritises its citizens and we want the South African government to do the same.”

The organisation denies xenophobia, and says it is not responsible for anti-foreigner violence.

“Lots of people support March and March in my neighbourhood,” said one local passing by the park.

“I feel personal sympathy with these [Malawians] in these conditions, but immigration is a big issue. These are jobs that South Africans could do.”

Syrica Thomson Banda, a 36-year-old tailor, said he had been waiting to be repatriated for 10 days along with his wife, Hajira Mussa.

He said: “I am here because the citizens of South Africa are chasing us to go home. We are waiting for our government to see our suffering.

“[South Africans] are coming here and threatening us, intimidating us.

“Enough is enough. Life is bigger than anything else. We have faced this not once, but twice and I am going home.”

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