"The longing for a place to call home can be unbearable as you count months and years existing in an environment that eats away at your humanity," Bulelani Mfaco said.

Efforts to protect people in Direct Provision (DP) have been slammed as "shambolic" and failing to protect the vast majority of asylum seekers living in the system.

Vulnerable people with underlying health conditions are being assessed in direct provision centres, as the Department of Justice takes measures to reduce overcrowding during the Covid-19 pandemic.