Collins Kamoto was heading out for a drink with a friend on a Sunday evening in May in the small gold mining town of Nigel, south-east of Johannesburg, when they were stopped by the police and arrested.
A month later, the 46-year-old, who had been in South Africa since March 2023, was charged with not having proper documentation. Then in September, after four months in jail, he was deported back to Malawi, part of what many of his compatriots believe is a renewed crackdown by South African authorities on immigrants working there illegally.
