Returnee recounts suspicious recruitment after deportation from South Africa

A 41-year-old Zimbabwean returnee has recounted a disturbing experience in which he was allegedly lured with promises of employment by a man claiming to be from the Department of Social Welfare before being introduced to another man who offered him work under circumstances, he later found suspicious.

Mr Ryan Ndlovu, who is staying at the United Congregational Church of Southern Africa (UCCSA) reception centre in Njube, Bulawayo, said he became suspicious after being taken from the centre to what he was told was his prospective employer’s lodge.

“I was told that the white man would offer me a job and a decent salary. We left this place together but I was surprised that we walked to board a commuter omnibus with this white man carrying my bag,” said Mr Ndlovu, who could not remember the man’s name.

He said they travelled from the reception centre to Bulawayo’s city centre before boarding another commuter omnibus to a property that the prospective employer described as his lodge.

“I found two employees, a husband and wife. I was offered a room and after that this man showed me a piece of land at the backyard where he said it is where I would do my gardening. He said once the vegetables were ripe, he would then provide a Scania truck which I would use to sell the produce and thereafter we would share the proceeds,” said Mr Ndlovu.

He said the proposed arrangement immediately raised his suspicions.
“I then became suspicious and asked the couple for directions back to the UCCSA reception centre,” he said.
Mr Ndlovu said he retained the contact details of the couple and the man who allegedly introduced him to the prospective employer.

“It’s sad that I don’t know the exact place where I was taken, but I have contacts for the couple and the man who connected me with the white man,” he said.
Efforts by Zimpapers to contact the couple and the man who allegedly claimed to work for the Department of Social Welfare were unsuccessful.

Mr Ndlovu arrived in Zimbabwe last week after being deported from South Africa and is among scores of returnees receiving temporary accommodation and assistance at the UCCSA reception centre in Njube.
He left Zimbabwe in 2007, five years after the death of his mother, and crossed illegally into South Africa in search of better opportunities.

Before leaving Zimbabwe, Mr Ndlovu lived at an old people’s home in Victoria Falls, where he acquired caregiving skills through courses offered by the Red Cross.

“I did caregiving because where I used to stay at the old people’s home, the Red Cross established an office and started offering courses such as First Aid, home-based care and mother-and-child care. I later did my attachment at Victoria Falls Hospital,” he said.

Mr Ndlovu wrote his Ordinary Level examinations at Mosi-oa-Tunya High School in 2003, passing English, Science, Principles of Accounts, IsiNdebele and Commerce.
His qualifications enabled him to secure employment as a caregiver in South Africa before he later ventured into farming.

“While in South Africa, I also got into farming and I was doing well until the Dudula people came along. All my sweat has now gone to waste,” he said.

Despite the challenges, Mr Ndlovu said he was grateful for the assistance he received from Government officials upon his return.

“The officials helped me process my identity document and I am now a proud holder of a national identity card,” he said.

Mr Ndlovu, who has a 10-year-old son living in Zambia, said he remained hopeful of rebuilding his life in Zimbabwe despite the setbacks he has experienced.