Durban refugees bused to Lindela as standoff continues outside Che Guevara Road Home Affairs

According to IOL, foreign nationals who had been camping outside the Department of Home Affairs Durban Refugee Reception Centre were loaded onto buses and transported to the Lindela Repatriation Centre in Gauteng on Tuesday.

Who was moved and where

According to IOL, the group included more than 200 documented refugees who have been living outside the reception centre along Che Guevara Road since May 22. The refugees come from the Democratic Republic of Congo, Burundi, Uganda, Mozambique and Tanzania.

Why some agreed to leave

Relief organisations and community leaders helped organise the departures. According to IOL, the Siyafana Sonke Action Campaign said Gift of the Givers assisted in facilitating provision of buses for this group. Refugee leader Bishop Raphael Bahebwa said more than 100 refugees, citing desperate street conditions and an ongoing risk of violence, had agreed to go to Lindela.

“The majority of us, more than 250, have refused to go to Lindela, a place that is effectively a prison and is notorious for human rights abuses. We wish to be able to continue with our lives in peace and safety. Each person and each family has to make their own decision in this very difficult situation,”

Local response and tensions

According to IOL, KwaZulu-Natal Premier Thamsanqa Ntuli visited the site recently, together with the Ambassador of the Democratic Republic of Congo to South Africa, John Kalunga Nyakeru, to assess conditions. Ntuli urged officials to finalise verification and repatriation processes and said reintegration of willing returnees would help social cohesion.

“The occupation on Che Guevara Road is in contravention of eThekwini Metro bylaws and poses a health risk. These conditions are not suitable for human habitation,”

According to IOL, refugees at the site have in recent weeks endured physical and verbal attacks from the March and March Movement, and campaigners warned of rumours about imminent police action to clear the remaining refugees from outside the reception office.

What remains unresolved

According to IOL, more than 250 people reportedly refused the move to Lindela and remain at the Che Guevara Road site. Campaigners told IOL they believe the state has repeatedly ignored their communications regarding the refugees’ situation.

The events on Tuesday form part of a wider, ongoing standoff between the refugee group, civil organisations and authorities over verification, repatriation and on-the-ground safety.