Govt Repatriates 3,624 Zimbabweans From SA, Offers Duty-Free Deal For Returnees

The Government says it has repatriated 3,624 Zimbabweans displaced by ongoing disturbances in South Africa, with an interministerial team now stationed at Beitbridge to manage arrivals.

In a statement released on Monday, 29 June 2026, Minister of Information, Publicity and Broadcasting Services Zhemu Soda said President Emmerson Mnangagwa had directed resources towards ensuring the “safe and dignified return of every Zimbabwean who wishes to come back home”.

He said as of 26 June 2026, 3,624 nationals had been received back in the country. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs is handling logistics, while additional manpower has been deployed to boost consular services.

Soda acknowledged delays at the border, blaming “profiling requirements by the South African authorities”.

The mandatory security checks involve verifying returnees’ details against South Africa’s national data bank. “Until this process is complete, our citizens remain under South African jurisdiction,” he said.

Soda revealed that to ease reintegration, Treasury has extended the immigrants’ rebate of duty to current returnees. The concession, previously reserved for Zimbabwe Exemption Permit (ZEP) holders, covers personal and household effects.

Returnees can import one motor vehicle under suspension of duty. VAT remains payable, but ZIMRA will use “flexible valuation terms” to keep the burden minimal. No import permit is required for vehicles older than 10 years. The vehicle must have been purchased before 31 December 2022, when ZEPs expired.

A rebate of duty also applies to personal property and business equipment used by returnees in South Africa, provided these were purchased before 31 December 2022. Soda said the facility does not cover new items and will be subject to evaluation to prevent abuse.

President Mnangagwa has issued a directive to all schools to absorb children of returnees within their catchment areas. “No child shall be turned away,” the statement reads. “Every returning child deserves the opportunity to continue their learning and build a future in their homeland.”

Soda said Zimbabwe would “always be happy to receive its nationals back home”, adding that returnees would find “open arms and a warm welcome on Zimbabwean soil”.

The repatriation drive follows weeks of tension in South Africa, where anti-immigration groups such as March and March have given undocumented foreign nationals until Tuesday, 30 June to leave the country.

Thousands of Zimbabweans have been sleeping outside consular offices in Cape Town seeking help to return.

The Government said it is “doing everything within our power to expedite the process and bring our people home as swiftly as possible”.