SA Granny Appeals For Help To Bring Daughter, Grandchildren From Zimbabwe After Reunion Fails

A South African woman is appealing for help to bring her daughter and three grandchildren back home after the daughter’s attempt to reunite with her Zimbabwean husband in Bulawayo failed.

Charlotte Masemola travelled to Bulawayo last week with her three children, two boys and a girl, intending to reunite with her husband.

The reunion is said to have failed after the man’s family allegedly refused to accept her, claiming she had entered Zimbabwe illegally and accusing her of infidelity.

Speaking to the Chronicle from KwaNdebele in Mpumalanga Province, South Africa, Masemola’s mother, Dina Bhudasi, said she only learnt of her daughter’s trip after she had already crossed into Zimbabwe.

“I was shocked to learn that my daughter had travelled to Zimbabwe. She never informed me, as her mother,” said Bhudasi.

“She must return, and my prayer is that she receives assistance because I know she has no financial means to cover her transport costs.”

She said her main concern was the safety and welfare of her daughter and grandchildren.

Masemola is understood to have arrived in Zimbabwe with a group of returning Zimbabwean nationals and was initially accommodated at the United Congregational Church of Southern Africa reception centre in Njube, Bulawayo.

She has since been moved to a place of safety by a humanitarian organisation while authorities assess her circumstances and consider options for her return to South Africa.

Meanwhile, South African authorities have warned against the abuse of repatriation programmes.

Earlier this month, another woman from KwaZulu-Natal allegedly tried to leave South Africa by posing as a Malawian national in order to be included in a voluntary repatriation programme.

The woman, who was travelling with her lover, claimed to be a Malawian citizen. However, immigration officials and Malawian authorities picked up inconsistencies in her account during screening at the temporary repatriation centre in Musina.

She was subsequently handed over to South African authorities, who confirmed she was a South African citizen.

Acting chief director at South Africa’s Department of Home Affairs, Albert Matsaung, warned that repatriation programmes are meant solely to assist foreign nationals returning to their countries of origin and should not be used to facilitate irregular migration.