Online Reporter
Peter Matika, [email protected]
EVERY night, 22-year-old Thandanani Sithole relives the terrifying moments when an angry mob pounded on the door of the house where he had sought refuge in Johannesburg.
The deafening bangs. The insults. The desperate sprint into the darkness. And then the sharp, searing pain as a knife pierced his back.
“It is a miracle that I am alive,” he says from his hospital bed at Mpilo Central Hospital, where he is recovering after narrowly escaping death during the latest wave of anti-migrant violence in South Africa.
For Mr Sithole, returning to Zimbabwe was never part of the plan.
Like thousands of young Zimbabweans, he crossed the Limpopo river in 2019 with dreams of finding work and building a better future. Instead, he found himself running for his life.
“I had gone to Johannesburg hoping to secure a job, but everything changed during the violent protests. I was attacked and stabbed in the back by a group of people pursuing us. The injury was severe and life-threatening,” he recalled.
His voice falters as he remembers the day violence came knocking.
“I vividly remember the mob banging on our door while shouting insults and calling us names. We ran for our lives, but they chased us carrying dangerous weapons. I don’t know how I survived.”
Today, surrounded by doctors and nurses at Mpilo Central Hospital, Mr Sithole says he is grateful to be alive.
“Coming back home has given me hope again. The doctors and nurses have done everything possible to help me recover,” says Mr Sithole.
Just a few beds away is another survivor whose scars are less visible but no less painful.
Twenty-five-year-old Mthabisi Sibanda from Bulawayo’s Emganwini suburb returned home five days ago after years spent trying to build a life in South Africa.
He never imagined that his greatest struggle would come after surviving a road traffic accident in Kempton Park.
“I was injured in an accident and believed I would receive treatment like any other patient. Instead, they only gave me pain tablets and told me to leave,” said Mr Sibanda.
Mr Sibanda said that when he explained that he was in severe pain, one nurse told him that medical assistance was reserved for South Africans and not foreigners.
“It broke my heart. I was in pain and desperately needed help, but I was made to feel like I didn’t matter because I was a foreigner,” he said.
Now back home, Mr Sibanda says being treated with dignity has helped restore his faith.
The experiences of the two young men reflect those of thousands of Zimbabweans forced to abandon livelihoods, homes and possessions as anti-immigrant protests swept through parts of South Africa.
Many arrived home carrying little more than the clothes they were wearing. Others returned nursing physical injuries and emotional trauma after witnessing violence that shattered dreams built over years of sacrifice.
At Mpilo Central Hospital, acting chief medical officer Professor Solwayo Ngwenya says every returnee deserves compassionate care regardless of where they come from.
“It is deeply disappointing to hear allegations that injured people were denied proper medical assistance because they were foreigners. As medical practitioners, we take an oath to preserve life and provide care without discrimination. One’s nationality should never determine medical treatment,” he said.
Prof Ngwenya said Mpilo was fully equipped to receive returnees requiring medical attention, with most patients presenting minor ailments.
“So far, the majority of returnees treated at our facility have presented with relatively minor ailments such as stomach irritations, while others require routine medical assessments following their return,” he said.
Beyond hospital wards, Government and humanitarian organisations are helping returnees begin the difficult task of rebuilding their lives.
At the United Congregational Church of Southern Africa (UCCSA) reception centre in Bulawayo’s Njube suburb, families are receiving temporary shelter, meals, medical care and transport assistance before travelling to their home areas.
The Ministry of Health and Child Care, working with humanitarian partners including Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) and the Higherlife Foundation, has already provided healthcare services to more than 191 000 people under the programme, screened 870 children for malnutrition and successfully treated 15 diarrhoea cases.
Government has so far repatriated nearly 100 000 Zimbabweans displaced by the renewed unrest through an Inter-
Ministerial Committee coordinating transport, reception and reintegration. Fifty Zupco buses have been deployed to ferry returnees from South Africa, while authorities at Beitbridge have streamlined immigration procedures to ease their passage home.
Addressing a post-Cabinet media briefing on Tuesday, Information, Publicity and Broadcasting Services Minister Dr
Zhemu Soda said Government continued to strengthen its humanitarian response as more Zimbabweans sought assistance to return home.
He said the Border Management Committee, comprising the Department of Immigration, the Zimbabwe Revenue Authority (Zimra), the Vehicle Inspection Department and ZimBorders, had also strengthened measures to speed up immigration clearance for buses transporting returnees.
He also commended First Lady Dr Auxillia Mnangagwa for complementing Government’s humanitarian efforts through a donation made after touring the Beitbridge Repatriation Centre on July 7.
Government has also put in place arrangements to assist other foreign nationals transiting through Zimbabwe on their way to their respective home countries.
As Zimbabwe welcomes back its sons and daughters, calls for peace have also grown louder across the region.
On Tuesday, President Mnangagwa hosted Zulu monarch King Misuzulu kaZwelithini and a delegation of South
African traditional leaders at State House in Harare, where they reaffirmed the enduring historical and cultural ties between the two countries and stressed the importance of peaceful coexistence.
