Musina’s temporary repatriation centre set to house 20 000 people at a time as they pass through the Beitbridge border.
- South Africa’s Department of Home Affairs set up a temporary repatriation centre on a patch of bush in Musina in just four days.
- Home Affairs Minister Leon Schreiber inspected the facility on Thursday, confirming that over 37 000 repatriations had been processed since Cabinet launched its five-pillar migration plan.
- Director-General Livhuwani Makhode said the centre was built after officials realised there would be a potential disaster if thousands of foreigners converged on the border without infrastructure.
Four days ago, there was bush. On Thursday night, it was a fully functioning repatriation centre capable of housing 20 000 people at a time while they waited to cross the Beitbridge border.
Speaking to News24 on Thursday morning in Musina, Limpopo, the Border Management Authority’s acting commissioner, David Chilembe, said Beitbridge border had seen 35 000 repatriations between 7 and 24 June.
When Home Affairs Minister Leon Schreiber arrived later in the day, he announced that the number had increased to over 37 000.
Department of Home Affairs director-general Livhuwani Tommy Makhode said the planning of the temporary repatriation centre began on Saturday.
It was set up to house, document and repatriate the thousands of foreigners wanting to cross the Beitbridge border in Musina.
Home Affairs has processed over 37 000 repatriations since the launch of Cabinet’s comprehensive approach to managing migration. At the new temporary repatriation centre, built at Musina in just 4 days under the IMC, the work continues in a lawful, orderly and dignified manner 🇿🇦 pic.twitter.com/JzBFavsS0p
— Leon Schreiber (@Leon_Schreib) July 2, 2026
This was in the wake of the 30 June anti-immigrant protests and the pressure on foreigners, undocumented and documented, to leave the country.
“This ground was once bush, we used land owned by the government and set up the facility because we realised there would be a major problem if [foreigners were to flock to Beitbridge],” he told News24 on Thursday night at the centre, said Makhode.
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The director-general said that on 7 June, when President Cyril Ramaphosa addressed the nation to outline the five-pillar approach to managing migration and combating illegal immigration, they took the directive from these measures when creating the facility, “one of the pillars includes law enforcement, and that includes deportations”, he said.
Schreiber inspected the facility earlier on Thursday, saying that the Department of Home Affairs had processed over 37 000 repatriations “since the launch of the Cabinet’s comprehensive approach to managing migration”.
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He emphasised that this was a “lawful, orderly and dignified” facility. This was after repatriates had previously been left at the Musina showgrounds, where there was no respite from the sun, and very little in the way of facilities.
The new facility has a Department of Home Affairs, as well as embassy representatives from the countries to which the people would be returned. It has sleeping facilities, divided by nation, to keep the peace. There is also access to water, food, electricity and ablutions.