DURBAN — Hundreds of legally documented foreign nationals have been forced to spend another night sleeping on the pavement outside the Moore Road refugee reception centre, citing terror over community death threats and sudden shelter closures.

The humanitarian crisis deepened despite the Department of Home Affairs officially confirming that the overwhelming majority of the group are in South Africa legally. On Thursday, 459 foreign nationals were transported from the Diakonia Centre to the Moore Road facility for a mass document verification process. Officials found only two individuals to be undocumented, while 457 were verified as legal refugees and asylum seekers.

Despite carrying valid legal documentation, the displaced group refuses to return to local informal settlements, stating that doing so would put their lives at immediate risk.

“My place I was staying in Mjondolo (the shacks), but the community there chased me away,” explained one displaced resident who fled for his life. “They said I must leave. If I stayed there, they will kill me. That is why I ran away.”