Malawi - May 2023

On 17 May, Malawi’s police and immigration authorities began forcefully removing refugees and asylum seekers living and working in the capital, Lilongwe, to the country’s Dzaleka refugee camp. It came a month after the expiration of a government-issued deadline for their voluntary relocation to the camp. The operation is reported to have involved the arrest and detention of hundreds of adults and children, some of whom claim to have been beaten by the authorities. According to Human Rights Watch, the removals amount to forced evictions, and as such are unlawful under international law. The operation aims to encamp the 8,000 refugees and asylum seekers estimated to be living outside of Dzaleka and the Minister of Homeland Security has stated that the removals will soon be extended beyond Lilongwe. The UN Refugee Agency warned that the removals will add further strain to the camp’s already overstretched capacity and would ‘have dire consequences on the provision of critical basic services.’  

Sources: The Guardian, British Broadcasting Corporation, Human Rights Watch, United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (1), United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (2)  

On 8 May, Malawi’s High Court delivered a judgement declaring that a government policy requiring all pupils in government schools to have trimmed hair was unconstitutional, because it violated the right of Rastafarian children to education, freedom of religion and not to be discriminated against on the grounds of religious affiliation. According to the court, the policy, which dated back to the era of one-party rule in the country (1964-1993), had barred the admission to government schools of ‘many Rastafarian children’, for whom the wearing of dreadlocks is an important manifestation of their religion. In its ruling, the court ordered that the policy be abolished, paving the way for the anticipated enrolment of approximately 1,200 Rastafarian children.  

Sources: Malawi High Court Judgement, Southern African Litigation Centre, The Guardian, Africa News