๐ซ๐๐ก๐ข๐ฃ๐๐ข๐๐๐ ๐๐ฅ๐๐ฆ๐๐ฆ ๐๐ฆ๐๐๐๐๐ง๐๐ฆ: ๐ฒ๐ต๐ฒ ๐ญ๐ถ๐บ๐ฏ๐ฎ๐ฏ๐๐ฒ๐ฎ๐ป๐, ๐๐ป๐ฐ๐น๐๐ฑ๐ถ๐ป๐ด ๐ฎ๐ต๐ญ ๐๐ต๐ถ๐น๐ฑ๐ฟ๐ฒ๐ป, ๐ฅ๐ฒ๐๐๐ฟ๐ป๐ฒ๐ฑ ๐๐ฟ๐ผ๐บ ๐ฆ๐ผ๐๐๐ต ๐๐ณ๐ฟ๐ถ๐ฐ๐ฎ
The Government of Zimbabwe says it has repatriated 696 citizens from South Africa since the start of June under an assisted voluntary return programme.
The scheme was launched in response to a surge in xenophobic attacks and anti-immigrant unrest across several South African provinces.
The initiative is being run with support from partners including the International Organisation for Migration (IOM) and the United Nations Childrenโs Fund (UNICEF).
Official figures show 696 Zimbabweans had been repatriated by 15 June, made up of 405 adults and 291 accompanied children.
Most returnees were displaced from the Western Cape, KwaZulu-Natal and Gauteng, where anti-immigrant protests have intensified in recent weeks and, in some cases, turned violent.
The majority are arriving at Beitbridge Border Post on buses hired by the Government.
IOM Zimbabwe spokesperson Fadzai Nyamande-Pangeti said the organisation was working closely with national authorities and humanitarian partners to monitor developments and adjust support as needs emerge.
โIn line with evolving operational needs, the organisation has scaled up support at Beitbridge to include meal assistance and onward transport to inland destinations across Zimbabwe, ensuring that returnees can continue their journeys safely to their communities of origin,โ she said.
โThis includes facilitating transport to destinations such as Harare, Gweru and Mutare, while also providing meal assistance to address immediate needs during transit.
โThese extended services complement ongoing support provided at points of entry and are part of a broader, coordinated response led by the Government of Zimbabwe, with IOM strengthening systems, enhancing screening and referral mechanisms, and supporting access to protection services where needed.โ
She said on arrival at Beitbridge, returnees are processed through reception facilities run by national authorities.
Immediate assistance includes registration and profiling, food and water, basic non-food items, health screening and referrals, psychosocial support, and information services.
Zimbabwe is among several African countries โ including Ghana, Malawi, Mozambique and Nigeria โ that have started voluntary emergency repatriation programmes for citizens affected by the latest wave of anti-immigrant unrest in South Africa.
Anti-immigration groups have warned that if undocumented foreign nationals do not leave South Africa by 30 June, they will organise a national shutdown and mass protests to force action.
The South African government has rejected the deadline. Justice and Constitutional Development Minister Mmamoloko Kubayi said the state does not recognise the ultimatum, stressing that immigration must be handled legally through official legislative processes and deportations, not by citizen enforcement.
More: The Herald
