Malawian imams, muazzins and mosque workers who have spent years serving South African Muslim communities are losing their livelihoods as immigration enforcement intensifies, with some being detained, dismissed and forced to return home after decades of service.
Community leaders have warned that while undocumented immigration has become the focus of recent enforcement operations, many long-serving religious workers are being left without meaningful support from the mosque committees that employed them.
Among those affected is a Malawian mosque worker who spoke to One Nation Media (ONM) on condition of anonymity for fear of repercussions.
After serving as a muazzin and general worker at a local masjid for more than 11 years, he was arrested during an operation by the Department of Home Affairs. His immigration case remains before the courts.
The arrest has left his family facing an uncertain future.
With no income or savings, he has been forced to withdraw his Grade 1 child from school. He, his wife and their young child are now preparing to return to Malawi, where they will have to rebuild their lives from the ground up.
The muazzin told ONM that he had repeatedly appealed to the masjid committee for assistance in obtaining the necessary immigration documentation but was informed that securing legal papers was not the committee’s responsibility.
Community leaders say his story is one of many emerging as enforcement operations continue.
Speaking to ONM, imam and Islamic teacher Sheikh Shuaibu Issa, a Malawian national who has lived in South Africa since 2001, described the situation as widespread and deeply distressing.
“This issue is a scary issue and it’s widespread,” he said. “It started in KwaZulu-Natal, but it is widespread, especially in Gauteng, where we see Malawians, especially the muazzins and the imams, being told to go because of the xenophobic climate and also because they do not have proper documentation.”
While recognising the government’s responsibility to enforce immigration laws, Sheikh Issa argued that mosque committees also have a duty towards employees they knowingly hired without legal documentation.
“To be frank with you, it is not about the government but about the employers who are employing these imams,” he said. “The employers are employing these imams knowing that they do not have papers. What I was expecting them to do was assist the imams and the muazzins in obtaining papers.”
Recalling his own experience, Sheikh Issa said he had previously served at a mosque where the committee assisted an undocumented colleague in regularising his immigration status.
“As I’m talking to you, he’s a permanent resident,” he said.
He added: “It is not the fault of the government. Rather, the fault lies with the masjid committee. They know that these employees of ours don’t have papers. Under labour law, they need to have papers. So what are you doing to assist your employees?”
According to Sheikh Issa, many mosque committees are now distancing themselves from workers because they fear heavy penalties if immigration authorities discover undocumented employees.
“The employers are now turning their backs on the employees as if they did not know that these employees did not have proper documentation,” he said.
He alleged that some mosque workers are being dismissed after serving their communities for decades and are receiving little more than transport money and a few months’ salary.
“Imagine a person has worked for 17 years, and this is what is happening,” he said.
More troubling, Sheikh Issa claimed, are reports that some workers are allegedly being instructed to deny that they are employed if officials from the Department of Home Affairs arrive.
“Some of them are being told, ‘When Home Affairs comes here, tell them you don’t work here.’ Just imagine: you work for 20 years and your employer is telling you to say that you don’t work there.”
He added: “Thirdly, they are saying to them, ‘Tell them that you came to beg.’”
Beyond the immediate loss of employment, Sheikh Issa said the dismissals are plunging entire families into financial hardship. Many of the affected workers support relatives in Malawi while also providing for their households in South Africa.
“We are the breadwinners,” he said. “We pay school fees for the people who are at home. When it stops abruptly, as it has now, it affects them because now you need to go home.”
Many had hoped to spend years serving their communities before eventually returning home with enough savings to retire with dignity.
Instead, Sheikh Issa said, they are leaving with little certainty about their futures.
“Only to see that the committee members are telling you, ‘Because of this, you must go.’ You are given nothing. Emotionally and financially, it has affected us a great deal.”
While acknowledging efforts by members of the Malawian community to organise transport for stranded workers returning home, Sheikh Issa said broader support was urgently needed from both the Muslim community and charitable organisations.
“We would have loved to see more happening and more help coming from the Malawian community itself, as well as from Muslim organisations, because it’s about Ubuntu, it’s about humanity.”
He also appealed to mosque committees to play a more active role in helping religious workers regularise their immigration status before problems arise.
“If they know that someone has no papers, they can try to assist them,” he said.
Sheikh Issa concluded with an appeal to Muslim communities not to forget those who have spent years serving their mosques.
“Help your imams, help your muazzins. They are the backbone of your community in terms of Islam. Therefore, give them the support that they need.”
