JCA Warns of South Hills Humanitarian Flashpoint

JCA Calls for Coordinated Response to South Hills Migrant Crisis

The Joburg Crisis Alliance warns that South Hills is on the brink of a humanitarian crisis as growing numbers of Malawian nationals await repatriation. Unless government urgently coordinates shelter, humanitarian assistance, security, and repatriation efforts, Johannesburg risks repeating the recent Sherwood crisis, placing vulnerable people at risk while escalating tensions within surrounding communities.

STATEMENT SUMMARY

The Joburg Crisis Alliance (JCA) has called for urgent intervention by the City of Johannesburg, the Department of Home Affairs and the Malawian High Commission to prevent a humanitarian crisis unfolding in South Hills.

Growing numbers of Malawian nationals are gathering in the area while awaiting voluntary repatriation, placing increasing pressure on local civil society organisations that are currently providing food and temporary shelter. The JCA warns that these community-led efforts are unsustainable and fears the situation could mirror the recent humanitarian crisis in Sherwood, eThekwini, where delayed government action left thousands of displaced migrants stranded and heightened tensions within surrounding communities.

The Alliance is calling for an integrated emergency response that includes activating disaster management structures, providing safe temporary accommodation with essential services, accelerating cross-border travel arrangements, increasing SAPS and JMPD visibility to prevent xenophobic violence, and prioritising vulnerable groups such as children, the elderly and pregnant women. While the Executive Mayor's Office has indicated that a provincial security cluster briefing is being prepared, the JCA stresses that civil society cannot continue carrying the operational burden alone and urges authorities to act transparently and decisively to protect both the affected migrants and surrounding communities.