adminThey include three men, their wives, children and an old woman whose husband was reportedly killed during internal fighting in the DRC in the build up to last month’s general elections.
They reportedly arrived in Bulawayo on Friday and spent three days and three nights at Amakhosi Cultural Centre.
A vehicle from Victoria Falls reportedly dropped them there after picking them from the resort town.
One of the men in the group, Mr Titus Bihojo, the only one who can speak English, narrated their sad story of how they fled from eastern Congo into Zambia.
Mr Bihojo, whose wife is pregnant, said it was no longer safe to continue staying in their country, hence their decision to leave.
“There was a problem in our country and we left after my father was shot in front of us and we fled with my mother and my family and we spent two months in the bush on the way to Zambia until we found a church in Lusaka. We stayed at the church for about a month until they found a vehicle to take us to Livingstone so that we could cross into
Zimbabwe,” said Mr Bihojo.
He said many families fled the country with some going to Uganda, Mozambique, Sudan and other neighbouring countries.
“We have no documents. We crossed the river and climbed the mountains until we reached the road in Victoria Falls where we begged a kombi driver to take us to Bulawayo and he now wants $200,” said Mr Bihojo.
“When we arrived at Amakhosi they wanted $30 per day and we did not have that money which is why we started moving around here after three days seeing that our children would die of hunger and we found this church. Now those people at Amakhosi want $90 for the three days we spent there.”
Mr Bihojo said they were seeking political asylum and were prepared to be taken to a refugee camp.
“Once we had entered Zimbabwe we knew we were safe because this is a peaceful country. Whatever happens now we know we are safe, some of our children are sick because of hunger and the conditions in the bush.
“We went to the United Nations offices in Bulawayo and they told us that they could not assist us because we are not recognised as refugees. We are however grateful to the support we are getting from people around here because they are bringing us food, clothes and medicines for our children,” he said.
Another woman said she fled with six of her nine children.
She is with five minors and one teenager and said she did not know where the other three children fled to.
Chronicle visited the church yesterday and discovered that residents of Makokoba were providing food, clothes and firewood to the families.
Despite the language barrier, the residents were flocking to the church to console the group, especially the women who were constantly crying.
The children were in the evening playing games with their counterparts from the suburb.
Some could now say a few words in isiNdebele.
A home-based care group from Sibambene had mobilised some resources for the pregnant woman.
They had also organised with nurses from Mzilikazi Clinic to attend to the woman.
Meanwhile, the church is appealing for more assistance from well-wishers to be able to continue feeding the families until such a time that authorities move them from the church building.
Speaking in an interview, one of the officials from the church, Mrs Gladys Kheli, said the church accepted them because of their sad situation.
“They came here on Sunday to ask for a place to sleep but we told them that we needed to seek authority from the police. We got in touch with the police who came here and said there was not much they could do because they could not provide the families with the food they needed. They said we could assist them if we had space and food,” she said.
She said the church was grateful to residents of Makokoba because they were assisting with food, clothes and blankets.
“We wish people will continue assisting so that we manage the situation. When they came here, they said at Amakhosi they were not given any water to bath and wash their clothes. Their wish is to go to a refugee camp. As we speak the three men from the group went with some local Congolese to look for some offices where they could be assisted to go to the camps,” said Mrs Kheli.
The Principal Immigration officer for the southern region, Mr Marshall Chikwature, said yesterday that his department had not been informed of the presence of the illegal immigrants and promised to visit the church.
“We do not know anything about that. I am definitely going there so that we find out how they came into the country. I cannot say much today but check with me tomorrow,” he said.
Contacted for comment on the possible way forward, the co-Minister of Home Affairs Kembo Mohadi said the church should approach the United Nations Commissioner for refugees who would organise their transfer to a refugee camp.
Online Reporter
Londile Moyo