Southern Africa has a long history of population movements for more than one hundred and fifty years (both voluntary and forced) (Cruch, Williams and Peberdy, 2005). Mobility has been a central and defining feature of the region’s politics, economy and culture. Most Southern African Development Community (SADC) Member States are shrewdly strafing improved migration, exerting efforts on control and exclusion.

Many continue to view migration as a threat, not an opportunity as they are not well prepared or capacitated to respond to sustained flows of migrants.

Exclusion and discrimination became worse during the Corona Virus Disease of 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic, when countries focussed on saving the lives of their own citizens, to
the exclusions of non-citizens regardless of their status in the host country. Exclusions and discriminations are core issues that motivated this pilot study to set out the motives behind
such exclusions and discriminations.