Zimbabweans In Cape Town Plead For Help To Leave South Africa

A group of Zimbabweans camping outside the Zimbabwean consulate in Cape Town say they no longer feel safe in South Africa and want to be repatriated.

The group, which includes children, has been waiting outside the mission with their luggage, seeking help with travel arrangements ahead of a 30 June deadline set by anti-immigration groups for undocumented foreigners to leave the country.

Among the group of Zimbabweans is Francis Sibande, who told SABC News that they now fear for their lives.

“There are so many threats which we meet even if you’re in the streets. Yes, of course, our landlords, they do not have a problem with us, but we are scared as we are living in the location, the words we are getting from other people saying ‘I think for you guys to be safe it’s rather better while there is still time, you must go back before 30 of June so that you be not in crisis’,” he said.

Meanwhile, South Africa’s acting national police commissioner, Lieutenant-General Puleng Dimpane, has warned that police will come down hard on anyone who breaks the law during marches or protests.

Dimpane said plans are in place to maintain law and order amid rising tensions over immigration.

She was speaking after joining South African and Malawian officials on an oversight visit to a new temporary repatriation centre in Durban on Sunday, where displaced, undocumented Malawian nationals are being processed.

Dimpane said police have sufficient resources and have so far managed the situation.

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