Durban’s Sherwood crisis exposes gaps in migration management, rights concerns raised

Thousands of migrants sheltering at a site in Durban are living in overcrowded, unsanitary conditions while authorities accelerate removals, raising fresh questions about migration management and human rights, according to IOL.

Conditions inside Sherwood

According to IOL, the site has become congested, with reports of poor sanitation, foul smells and limited access to toilets and hygiene facilities. A 25-year-old Malawian man at Sherwood told IOL,

“I haven’t bathed in seven days.”

The man described long waits, repetitive meals and deteriorating sanitary conditions, saying some people had been at the site since early June and that overcrowding had worsened access to basic services. IOL reported that water, waste removal and cleaning services were present but strained by the site’s growing population.

Clashes and police response

IOL reported that more than 10,000 people gathered at Sherwood and that a group allegedly clashed with police, throwing stones. Police responded with stun grenades and teargas. KZN police spokesperson Colonel Robert Netshiunda told IOL that police “had to use minimum legal force to disperse the crowd” and that “stability and order have been restored,” with police continuing to monitor the situation.

Critics point to policy and procedural failures

Immigration expert Craig Smith told IOL that the situation reflects deeper failures in how migration is managed. According to IOL, Smith alleged that Home Affairs was “flouting the immigration laws” by using so-called “virtual priority courts”, “herding” people into large groups and coercing detainees into deportation. He also told IOL that Malawians had not been offered amnesties similar to those granted to other nationalities, a disparity he characterised as unfair treatment.

Political oversight and municipal interventions

Sithembiso Ngema, the DA provincial leader, told IOL that city officials and the executive were slow to respond, that metro police were “nowhere to be seen”, and that gaps in enforcement had contributed to the crisis. He said the visit aimed to conduct oversight after complaints about service delivery to those at the site.

According to IOL, eThekwini Mayor Cyril Xaba announced urgent interventions to ease pressure at Sherwood and speed up processing and removals, to be implemented within 72 hours. The mayor said the city had activated the Drive-In Site as an overflow staging area, deployed buses to transport migrants for processing, increased security, healthcare services, ablution facilities and water supply, and established a virtual court with six additional courts expected to increase capacity. He stressed that each undocumented foreign national must be processed individually under South African law before deportation.

Deportations, relief and legal concerns

IOL reported that more than 1,400 people have already been deported, with further buses travelling to Malawi. The Gift of the Givers Foundation told IOL it had mobilised support for those returning home, distributing Female Care Packs and five-litre bottles of water, and providing relief to vulnerable mothers. The organisation said it coordinated with Home Affairs, Border Control and the Malawian government.

Dr Raymond Perrier of the Denis Hurley Centre told IOL that government officials have a binding constitutional duty to “respect, protect, promote and fulfil the rights” of all individuals and warned that political expediency should not undermine due process and human dignity.

What remains clear

According to IOL, Sherwood has become a contested humanitarian and political flashpoint where rapidly accelerated removals, overcrowded conditions and criticism of enforcement practices have converged, prompting emergency municipal measures and calls for rights-based handling of migrants.