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Free flights from South Africa to end on Thursday night as 422 return to Kenya
Anthony Waweru (left) and Nelly Onyango, two of the Kenyans repatriated from South Africa following escalating anti-migrant protests on arrival at JKIA on July 2, 2026.
What you need to know:
- Diaspora Affairs Principal Secretary Roseline Njogu confirmed in a tweet that the Thursday night flight will be the last.
- The first batch of 26 Kenyan returnees arrived on June 30, and there have been regular repatriation flights since then.
The government’s programme of repatriating Kenyans fleeing lynch mobs in South Africa will end on Thursday night, having flown in 422 Kenyans and with 50 more expected in the final flight.
The Foreign Affairs ministry told Nation that the Kenya Airways aeroplane that will bring the last cohort is scheduled to land at the Jomo Kenyatta International Airport (JKIA) at about 10pm.
On Thursday morning, a plane carrying 80 evacuees touched down at JKIA, adding to the 362 that had been flown to Kenya for free since June 30.
Diaspora Affairs Principal Secretary Roseline Njogu confirmed in a tweet that the Thursday night flight will be the last. Kenyans seeking repatriation had been asked to submit their names by Tuesday.
The Kenyan government has been working in coordination with the Kenyan Diaspora in South Africa (Kedasa) to identify those under threat and facilitate their transport to the Kenyan High Commission for processing of their flights home.
The first batch of 26 Kenyan returnees arrived on June 30, and there have been regular repatriation flights since then. The most needy were accommodated and fed using Kenyan taxpayers’ funds.
“We issued a call for the Kenyan diaspora living in South Africa to register if they wished to be evacuated or if they were currently in danger,” Ms Njogu said after the arrival of the first group.
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