Malawi has announced that its diplomats in South Africa have been declared “persona non grata” and ordered to leave the country.
“The diplomats and their families have been given three working days to depart the Republic of South Africa,” said the Malawi foreign affairs ministry in a statement dated 11 June 2021.
The expelled diplomats were stationed at the Malawi high commission in Pretoria and that country’s consulate in Johannesburg.
The move comes in the wake of a scandal uncovered by the SA Revenue Service (SARS).
Some foreign diplomats were found to be involved in a tax-dodging racket in which they bought huge quantities of booze from duty-free shops and then sold them in South Africa for a massive profit.
SARS estimates the scam deprived it of about R100 million in unpaid taxes every month.
The Malawi diplomats were not alone. Other diplomats fingered were from Rwanda, Lesotho, Ghana, and Guinea.
In the same letter the Malawi foreign affairs ministry apologised to South Africa.
The Malawi ministry said the diplomats were expelled for “abusing their diplomatic privileges” and would be dealt with upon their return.
