Maputo, Aug. 3, 2026 (Lusa) - Celso, a Mozambican minibus driver, has faced challenges due to the rise in xenophobia in South Africa, but, with a strong desire to support his family, he continues to take the risk on that route, even though he carries only a few passengers to the neighbouring country.

«We've got very few passengers. We've only been taking people from there to here, although in the last few days, the odd person or two who's brave enough to return has turned up,» Celso Jotal, 50, tells Lusa in downtown Maputo, whilst preparing for his next journey in his minibus – an informal transport vehicle with a capacity for 15 passengers.

He has been working as a driver on the Maputo–Durban route in South Africa since 2007, and even today, he recalls the challenging days when xenophobic tensions escalated just a few kilometres away. The episodes of violence began to intensify in late May, affecting various areas of that country and leading to the exodus of tens of thousands of Mozambicans.

On that journey of approximately 550 kilometres, which used to be made with a full load of passengers, Celso now rarely makes the trip with just four occupants, including his assistant, but they insist that the drive to provide for their family motivates them more than any fear of facing the xenophobic situation.

«But a few weeks ago, it meant going back ‘empty-handed', with nothing. It was a challenge,» he said, his face betraying his weariness with a situation that, for weeks now, has disrupted the routine that has always served as a source of livelihood for his family and his five children's education.

He recalls that attackers in South Africa assaulted one of his fellow drivers whilst the driver was trying to fill the van with fuel to return to Maputo, yet he acknowledges that he still chooses to take the risk and transport the few passengers who, for lack of alternatives in Mozambique, turn up trying to return to the neighbouring country, despite their concerns.

«We have no security whatsoever; all we can do is pray as we set off and take the risk. They already know that a Mozambican has nothing to his name,» he laments, whilst waiting for the last car of the day to leave for South Africa and trying to secure his place in the queue to be first in line the following morning.

In the car park, which, before the unrest, used to receive hundreds of passengers bound for South African cities, more vehicles now arrive in search of a parking space than departures carry travellers. The scene and a sense of anticipation dominate the conversations amongst the drivers who mingle with the ‘money changers', who accost anyone entering the area in an attempt to sell rands.

Whereas previously five vehicles could leave daily for every destination in that country, the situation has changed. On a good day, only two vehicles set off, sometimes with just two passengers.

«We're taking on the challenge,» says Celso.

This situation of uncertainty, yet one filled with courage, is also shared by Guilherme, a driver on the Maputo–Johannesburg route, a journey of almost 545 kilometres, a city that has seen outbreaks of xenophobia in recent weeks, targeting mainly immigrants from other African countries, a crisis that has already claimed at least 11 lives among Mozambicans, and which has been characterised by home invasions and looting of shops.

Guilherme currently has limited work. Each journey costs passengers 1,500 rands (€78.80), and he is striving to maintain his work: «Today, the minibus that left from here didn't even fill up. It set off with just four people.» «People are returning; they're not going to South Africa at the moment. So the number of passengers we've been taking from Maputo to there is very small,» he explains, adding that those returning arrive in Maputo with full vehicles.

«They come fully loaded. And it's not just one; there are so many,» he says, adding that he keeps trying because he has no other work options to support his four children.

«It's a challenge, but you have to try. Sometimes we come here to the square, try to take passengers to Ressano Garcia, but we don't cross the border, we just stay close by and come back; but going the other way is difficult because there are no passengers,» he explains.

Frederico Lopes, president of the Mozambique-South Africa Transport Association (Mozata), which operates international passenger routes between the two countries, reports days of long lines at immigration posts as Mozambicans try to sort out their documents to return home, hoping the protests will die down.

«People are gradually returning,» says Frederico Lopes, noting that the mass return has put pressure on transport services to ensure a swift return to Mozambique.

According to Lopes, transport operators draw on the experience they gain every year at Easter and at the end of the year – periods when people are only entering Mozambique and not leaving for South Africa: «It was no trouble at all for us to get things up and running, because it's something we've been doing every year.» During this period of reduced passenger numbers, he explains that transport operators must allocate passengers among vehicles to ensure everyone completes at least one journey, particularly given the limits on daily trips.

«There was no way round it; if someone wanted to stay here to find passengers, it would have been very difficult, because practically no one was travelling from here to there,» he explains.

Around 1,500 Mozambican citizens have returned home from South Africa with the help of the authorities, seeking safety from xenophobic attacks, whilst provincial immigration services have reported in recent weeks a massive influx of citizens who have used their own means to return to provinces such as Gaza or Manica.

This is the case of Adilton Moiane, aged 23, who left his area in Johannesburg before the protests reached it to sort out his documentation in Maputo. Now, with his bags packed, he is waiting for transport to return, despite the risks: «The only way for me to avoid the xenophobia is to have the documents they need there.» «Even so, it's still a challenge, but we're facing up to the situation, yes,» says Adilton.

In Johannesburg, he left behind a nail salon which he intends to reopen, so he can continue to provide for his family in Manjacaze, in Gaza Province. He explains that he paid the rent before leaving the city to ensure the safety of his belongings with his South African landlord.

«I asked them to look after my things there so that when I return, I'll find all my possessions intact,» he told Lusa.

Returning after two weeks is a real necessity: «I'm returning despite the risks, as I really must go back because the situation here in Mozambique isn't easy.» Silvino Limeme, a locksmith, is one of the many passengers trying to return to the neighbouring country to find the family he left behind, after years without setting foot in Mozambique.

«What I want is to be close to my children. If they have any problems, I could help sort them out. If it weren't for that, I'd be living at home [in Mozambique],» says Silvino, choosing to keep a low profile upon his return to South Africa, in an attempt to rebuild his life and reunite with his family.

VIYS/ADB // ADB.

Lusa