“It is unbearable”: Zimbabweans stranded in South Africa plead for help amid xenophobia tensions
The Mt Kenya Times 
Mistopher Ncube
Families are sleeping in open spaces without food, water or transport home as anti-foreigner violence spreads across South Africa
By Norman Mwale
“People are stranded at various open spaces, with little children, no water to bathe, no transport to ferry them back home. The situation is unbearable.” — Mistopher Ncube, Zimbabwean community advocate
Zimbabwean nationals living in South Africa are facing growing desperation as xenophobia-driven attacks and mass displacements leave families stranded in open spaces without food, water or transport home, a community representative has warned.
Mistopher Ncube, who has lived and worked in Cape Town for more than 20 years, told SABC this week that the situation facing his compatriots has reached crisis levels. Ncube, who has spent two decades advocating for migrant rights, said he has been moving between communities to assist those affected.
“People are stranded at various open spaces, with little children, no water to bathe, no transport to ferry them back home,” Ncube said. “They left their homes with nothing. The situation is unbearable. Women are sleeping on the ground with babies. Men do not know where to go in the morning.”
Ncube said the displacements follow a wave of anti-foreigner sentiment in several townships and inner-city areas, where Zimbabweans, Malawians and Mozambicans have been accused of taking jobs and straining public services. In recent weeks, videos circulating on social media have shown shops being looted and foreign nationals ordered to leave their accommodation with immediate effect.
South Africa’s Department of Home Affairs has not released official figures on how many Zimbabweans have been displaced, but community leaders estimate hundreds are currently sleeping in churchyards, taxi ranks and municipal halls across Gauteng, KwaZulu-Natal and the Western Cape. Many of those affected are undocumented, making them reluctant to approach police stations for fear of arrest and deportation.
For Ncube, the crisis is personal. Having arrived in South Africa more than 20 years ago and built a life in Cape Town as a documented migrant, he says he has made it his mission to defend the dignity of Zimbabweans abroad. “I am fighting this struggle for my fellow brothers and sisters,” he told SABC. “We are not criminals. We came here to work, to feed our families back home, to build. We deserve to be treated as human beings.”
Human rights organisations have called on both the South African and Zimbabwean governments to intervene urgently. The Zimbabwean Consulate in Johannesburg has confirmed it received reports of nationals stranded at border posts and in urban centres, and said it was working with South African authorities to establish safe shelters and facilitate repatriation for those wishing to return.
Analysts warn the timing could not be worse. With Zimbabwe’s economy still fragile and unemployment high, a mass return of migrants would place additional pressure on already stretched services at home. At the same time, remittances from South Africa remain a critical lifeline for thousands of families in Zimbabwe.
Ncube urged calm and dialogue. “We are asking the South African government to protect everyone who is legally here. And to those who are attacking, we are saying: we are your neighbours. We share the same streets. Let us find a way to live together,” he said.
He also appealed to the diaspora and to well-wishers to donate food, blankets and transport money. “A mother with three children cannot walk from Johannesburg to Beitbridge. She needs help today, not tomorrow.”
As night falls in the makeshift shelters, the uncertainty continues. For now, community leaders like Ncube remain on the ground, offering what comfort they can while awaiting government intervention.
The South African Police Service says it is monitoring hotspots and has deployed additional officers to prevent further attacks. Whether that will be enough to restore safety and dignity for Zimbabweans caught in the crisis remains to be seen.
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