Harare – More than 58,700 Zimbabweans have returned home from South Africa as authorities intensify a crackdown on undocumented migrants, according to the Zimbabwean government.
According to HeraldOnline, the Office of the President and Cabinet said that 11,065 Zimbabweans had been repatriated with government assistance by Thursday, while a further 47,703 had returned through self-repatriation, bringing the total number of returnees to 58,768.
President Emmerson Mnangagwa has directed that returning citizens be welcomed with dignity and supported through reintegration programmes aimed at helping them contribute to Zimbabwe’s growing economy.
“PRESIDENT Mnangagwa has implored communities countrywide to embrace with love and compassion, Zimbabweans returning home from the Diaspora, saying his administration has put in place adequate measures to ensure their sate and dignified reintegration into society”…
— Nick Mangwana (@nickmangwana) July 2, 2026
Deputy Chief Secretary George Charamba said the government views the returnees as an economic asset, citing the skills many acquired while working in South Africa. He said these skills would benefit sectors including horticulture, mining and manufacturing.
“Government is doing all it can to ensure their comfortable and dignified return but also to their long-term reintegration into wider society. They are coming back to a changed country. The economy is growing and creating new opportunities, which means Zimbabwe’s capacity to absorb its returnees is very much enlarged,” the report quoted Charamba as saying.
About 600 migrants have camped in a field in Epping, Cape Town, hoping to be repatriated. Most of them have been in the area since last Friday. The local refugee centre has processed over 3,000 people at the facility over the past few weeks. Malungelo Booi reports.
Watch:… pic.twitter.com/ksnIAL3bqY
— Newzroom Afrika (@Newzroom405) July 5, 2026
The government said it continues to provide humanitarian assistance and transport for returning citizens, with support from development partners and private donors.
Meanwhile EWN reported on Sunday that more than 700 undocumented migrants, most of them Zimbabwean and Malawian nationals, spent Saturday night sleeping outdoors after the Department of Home Affairs’ repatriation centre in Epping, Cape Town, was closed.
Many of the stranded migrants had been working on farms outside Cape Town, the report said.
Hundreds of foreign nationals remain stranded outside the Home Affairs repatriation centre in Epping. Volunteer Mistopher Ncube is urging authorities to provide more buses to take the remaining migrants home. Tune in to #eNCA, channel #DStv403. pic.twitter.com/qJVzkA319h
— eNCA (@eNCA) July 5, 2026
Western Cape Premier Alan Winde urged those who did not board buses to Musina to seek assistance from their respective embassies or consulates.
On Sunday, volunteers provided food and basic hygiene supplies, while Cape Town law enforcement monitored the area. Gift of the Givers said the City of Cape Town did not grant permission for a tent to be erected to shelter the migrants.
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Compiled by Betha Madhomu
