The Minister of Internal Affairs, Leon Schreiber, informed Parliament that the department spent 341 million rands on repatriation between June and August 2026. Furthermore, 37,942 undocumented foreign nationals were detained and deported from January to August.
Specifically, at least 122 million rands were spent on housing undocumented immigrants from January to May of this year. The total expenditure for repatriation and accommodation included reimbursement of over 13 million rands to the municipalities of Ekurhuleni and Cape Town for transporting illegal immigrants to Beitbridge, Musina, during anti-immigration operations conducted three months ago.
This data was presented by Leon Schreiber in response to parliamentary questions posed by MK party deputy Siyabonga Mkhize, who inquired about the costs associated with the detention and repatriation of illegal immigrants since the beginning of January 2026. Mkhize also asked about the total number of undocumented foreigners from each country of origin who were arrested and deported during the same period.
Schreiber clarified that arrests were carried out by both the SAPS police and the Department of Internal Affairs. He noted that the detained individuals were either convicted or confirmed for detention and deportation following a judicial process. The Minister emphasized that the Department of Internal Affairs can only report on the number of detained and deported illegal foreigners, not on arrests made by other law enforcement agencies.
Nevertheless, Schreiber stated that the total number of individuals detained and deported by the Department of Internal Affairs between January 1, 2026, and August 31, 2026, amounted to 37,942 people. He added that this figure does not include a large number of people who underwent the repatriation procedure.
According to Schreiber's reports, at least 12,407 Zimbabwean citizens, 10,725 Malawian citizens, 9,548 Mozambican citizens, and 4,435 Lesotho citizens were deported during the same period. The Minister also reported that his department incurred no expenses related to deportation between January 1, 2026, and May 31, 2026.
He confirmed that the Department of Internal Affairs spent 122 million rands on housing undocumented immigrants. Schreiber also reminded that repatriation costs totaled 341 million rands for the period from June to August 2026. The Minister specifically noted that the Department reimbursed the municipalities of Ekurhuleni and Cape Town for providing buses.
It was established that the municipality of Ekurhuleni received compensation of 10.6 million rands for transporting illegal immigrants from Durban to Musina. Cape Town received a total reimbursement of 3.8 million rands for transport and facilities installed in Epping.
Schreiber mentioned that the request from the Department of Public Works and Infrastructure regarding covering the costs of establishing and maintaining the Temporary Repatriation Processing Centre in Musina has not yet been received. Other costs associated with repatriation and deportation include:
- 48 million rands for the establishment and operation of the Temporary Repatriation Processing Centre in Musina;
- 232 million rands for bus rentals from the regional and intercity carrier Atlantic Charter & Tours;
- 8.7 million rands for charter flights by Cobra Aviation to DRC, Ethiopia, Nigeria, and Burundi;
- 9.5 million rands for accommodation of Department of Internal Affairs staff in Durban and Musina; and
- 14.5 million rands for daily allowances, travel expenses, event venues, and printed materials of the Department of Internal Affairs.
Schreiber explained that repatriation-related costs are covered by the South African government. He added that contact is being made with the relevant countries to assist in the identification, documentation, and return of their citizens, but such cooperation does not always involve reimbursement of repatriation costs.