South Africa: Last Immigrant Families Leave From Cape Town Repatriation Site

Hundreds more immigrants left from Cape Town on buses, leaving the repatriation site in Epping empty by Monday night.

The temporary repatriation site at the Refugee Reception Centre, was opened on 28 June to shelter thousands of people wanting to return to their countries after anti-immigrant protests and threats of violence. The site was officially closed after the families had left, but hundreds more people, mostly from Zimbabwe and Malawi, arrived over the weekend. They had been living on an open field near the centre.

However on Monday the new arrivals left by bus and by Tuesday, when GroundUp visited, the site was clear. GroundUp saw several law enforcement and SAPS vehicles. City of Cape Town Solid Waste staff were clearing the area.