Zimbabwean families driven from their homes camp outside Limpopo police station
Over 100 Zimbabwean immigrants are camping outside a South African police station in Limpopo after being forced from their homes. Local volunteers are providing aid while coordinating with the Zimbabwean government for repatriation.
Why it matters
This highlights the growing humanitarian crisis and social tensions surrounding undocumented migration in South Africa.
LIMPOPO – Chivhayo Sinorema says he has lived in Khuvhi village, Thohoyandou, since 2009, surviving on odd jobs in construction sector, cutting wood or gardening, and sending money to support his wife and two children in Zimbabwe. Then a week ago, a mob accompanied by his landlord, told him he must leave.
We spoke to Sinorema on Wednesday at the Thohoyandou police station, where he and over 100 other Zimbabweans, mostly women and children, have been camping outside, seeking safety. Police were present. There were piles of suitcases wrapped in plastic and other belongings.
Zimbabwean community volunteers, working with the Zimbabwean government and its consulate in Johannesburg, have mounted a repatriation effort.
People we spoke to said they were told to vacate the places they rented in the wake of the 30 June deadline set by March and March for undocumented immigrants to leave the country.
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