''All the talk yesterday evening was that his return was good and they were going to arrest him,'' said Patrick Gearing, the spokesman for Mr Ravalomanana. ''I don't know why the change of heart now.''
An hour before landing Saturday, Madagascar authorities closed the country's airports, forcing Marc Ravalomanana, the 62-year-old ousted leader, to return to South Africa, according to a spokesman. The plane landed back in Johannesburg in the afternoon, said the spokesman, Patrick Gearing.