SIHMA Press Review for May 2026
Africa
TVC News
25 May 2026
Human Trafficking: Nigeria Immigration Service Raises Alarm Over Fake Travel Offers
The Nigeria Immigration Service issued a public advisory warning against rising fraudulent migration schemes, cautioning that criminal networks increasingly target vulnerable people, particularly young women and girls with false promises of jobs, education or a better life abroad that often lead to forced labor and trafficking. The agency urged Nigerians to verify travel and recruitment offers through official government channels, avoid unverified sponsors or agents facilitating irregular migration, report suspicious activity to immigration or security agencies, and rely only on legitimate, documented travel processes, while reaffirming its commitment to border security and inviting the public to reach out via its verified communication channels for assistance.
Link to Article: https://www.tvcnews.tv/human-trafficking-nigeria-immigration-service-raises-alarm-over-fake-travel-offers/
BBC
13 May 2026
Ghana to evacuate 300 from South Africa over anti-immigrant protests
Ghana announced it will evacuate 300 "distressed" citizens from South Africa after registering at its Pretoria embassy, following a foreign ministry advisory issued in response to a fresh wave of xenophobic attacks, even as South African authorities dismissed circulating videos of the violence as fake, and President Cyril Ramaphosa characterized the unrest as "isolated acts of criminality" rather than reflecting government policy while pledging tighter migration enforcement. The evacuation comes amid mass protests by South Africans demanding deportation of undocumented foreigners over concerns about jobs, housing and crime, prompting Ghana and Nigeria to summon South African envoys and Ghana to appeal to the African Union over safety risks to Africans in the country, while Kenya, Malawi, Lesotho and Zimbabwe have also issued caution warnings to their citizens amid South Africa's long history of xenophobic tension.
Link to Article: https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cedpv17gqqzo
Anadolu Ajansı
03 May 2026
2,600 more civilians displaced by worsening insecurity in Sudan’s North Kordofan: UN migration agency
The IOM reported that worsening insecurity forced roughly 2,600 civilians to flee the towns of Abu Haraz and Kazgil in Sudan's North Kordofan state over just two days (April 29-30), with the displaced taking shelter in the Sheikan district amid what the agency described as a "highly tense and volatile" situation. This adds to Sudan's broader crisis since the war began in April 2023 between the army and the Rapid Support Forces, which has killed tens of thousands, displaced about 13 million people, and pushed parts of the country toward famine.
Link to Article: https://www.aa.com.tr/en/africa/2-600-more-civilians-displaced-by-worsening-insecurity-in-sudan-s-north-kordofan-un-migration-agency/3925771
South Africa
DW
23 May 2026
South Africa's response to xenophobia is under fire
As anti-migrant attacks resurface in South Africa, part of a pattern stretching back to 2008's deadly riots and recurring unrest in 2015, 2016 and 2019 and critics question whether government responses are effective, with migration researcher Loren Landau arguing that scapegoating migrants distracts from South Africa's real problems and erodes democracy, since migrant numbers are too small to meaningfully affect jobs or crime. Officials including Foreign Minister Ronald Lamola and Cabinet Minister Khumbudzo Ntshavheni have condemned vigilantism and civilian enforcement of immigration law while insisting economic issues won't be solved by "chasing anyone," even as groups like Operation Dudula push for mass deportations, refugee advocate Vusumuzi Sibanda warns some official responses are worsening tensions, and former President Thabo Mbeki has publicly blamed his successors' governance failures rather than immigrants for rising crime and unemployment, leaving migrants like Ghanaian resident Princess Adjei and Zambian entrepreneur Moses Chanda describing growing fear, even as some South Africans, like Johannesburg's Nomsa Dlamini, insist the underlying issue is poverty and frustration rather than widespread hatred of foreigners.
Link to Article: https://www.dw.com/en/south-africas-response-to-xenophobia-is-under-fire/a-77265909
People’s Dispatch
14 May 2026
Anti-immigrant protests and violence escalate in South Africa
Weeks of anti-immigrants protest across south africa, which was initially led by the March & March movement over unemployment, crime and service access, have escalated into violent attacks on african migrants, killing at least seven people since March 2026, prompting formal protests and envoy summonses from Ghana, Mozambique and Nigeria, with Ghana pushing the african Union to address the issue at its upcoming summit while South Africa’s government condemns the violence yet faces criticism, including from the grassroots Abahlali baseMjondolo movement, that security responses fail to address the deeper structural inequality, unemployment and unfullfilled promises of post-apartheid transformation driving the unrest.
Link to Article: https://peoplesdispatch.org/2026/05/14/anti-immigrant-protests-and-violence-escalate-in-south-africa/
SABC
6 May 2026
Ramaphosa engaged with Chapo on immigration challenges: Magwenya
President Cyril Ramaphosa discussed with Mozambique's President Daniel Chapo the need for African nations to confront domestic factors such as conflict, instability and misgovernance, that drive mass migration to countries like South Africa, according to presidential spokesperson Vincent Magwenya, who said the leaders addressed the topic during Chapo's recent Pretoria visit amid ongoing protests against illegal immigration. Magwenya added that Ramaphosa also pushed back against characterizing South Africa or its people as xenophobic, describing the country as "open, friendly and warm."
Link to Article: https://www.sabcnews.com/sabcnews/ramaphosa-engaged-with-chapo-on-immigration-challenges-magwenya/
Southern Africa
International Judo Federation
22 May 2026
Judo, Hope and Green Action at Dzaleka Refugee Camp
The Judo Association of Malawi held a "Judo for Peace Open Day" at Dzaleka Refugee Camp on May 16, 2026, bringing together 60 refugees and 14 athletes from local communities to showcase judo skills, discipline and teamwork alongside cultural activities like poetry, in a camp near Lilongwe that hosts thousands of refugees mainly from DR Congo, Burundi, Rwanda and Somalia. Attended by federation leaders including president Osbourne Banda, the event concluded with a tree-planting ceremony under the IJF's Green Dojo environmental initiative, symbolizing growth and hope, and reflecting how the Judo for Peace program supported by the International Judo Federation, aims to give young refugees structure, confidence and a sense of community despite the hardships of displacement.
UN Volunteer
11 May 2026
Refugee at 15, Community Builder Years Later
Kirsti Mukwiilongo, who fled Namibia as a 15-year-old refugee during the liberation struggle and later worked in refugee education with UNHCR, returned to the region in 2006 as a UN Volunteer Community Development Officer in war-scarred Angola, where she spent five years supporting some 800,000 refugees, mainly from DR Congo, Rwanda and Burundi by helping isolated refugee women in Sungui, Bengo province form an agricultural and later tailoring cooperative, secure their first bank accounts, and gain financial independence, while also advocating for a Shell-funded primary school and providing psychosocial support, including protecting six Eritrean footballers who sought asylum in 2007. Now serving as National General Secretary of the YMCA in Namibia, Kirsti continues working with refugees and marginalized youth, describing her humanitarian path as a calling shaped by compassion from her own refugee experience, and encourages others to become UN Volunteers.
Link to Article: https://www.unv.org/story/refugee-15-community-builder-years-later
SOS Media Burundi
05 May 2026
Zambia : the court opens the way to citizenship for children born to refugee parents
Zambia's Constitutional Court unanimously struck down a provision requiring a residence permit to qualify as a "habitual resident," ruling it incompatible with the Constitution's grounding of citizenship in birth and descent, thereby removing a major legal barrier that had blocked refugees and their Zambian-born children from acquiring citizenship. The ruling, which followed a petition by the Zambian Civil Liberties Union backed by the Global Strategic Litigation Council, is expected to open access to education, healthcare and employment for an estimated 41,000 children born in Zambia to refugee parents out of over 104,000 refugees and former refugees in the country, with advocates hailing it as a "triumph for humanity" while acknowledging that practical, administrative implementation may still pose challenges.
Link to Article: https://www.sosmediasburundi.org/en/2026/05/07/zambia-the-court-opens-the-way-to-citizenship-for-children-born-to-refugee-parents/
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