South Africa has sparked a diplomatic storm after formally demanding that Malawi, Nigeria and Ethiopia reimburse part of the R292 million (about K29 billion) it has spent this year deporting undocumented migrants — with Malawians making up the largest share of those removed. The explosive request follows a briefing to South Africa’s Parliamentary Portfolio Committee on Home Affairs, where director‑general Tommy Makhode admitted the department had budgeted just R60 million for deportations, only for costs to balloon nearly fivefold. Makhode told MPs the repatriation drive sits outside South Africa’s legislative budget framework, forcing officials to raid unbudgeted allocations to keep operations running. “We have not budgeted for this… So to date, this is what we’ve spent: R292 million,” he said. Malawi’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs had not yet commented on whether it had received the demand or how it intends to respond, even as South African lawmakers raise fresh concerns about spiralling deportation costs.