BULAWAYO, Jul. 13 (NewsDay Live) – Churches have launched an emergency support programme to assist thousands of Zimbabweans returning from South Africa following anti-migrant protests and xenophobic violence.
Zimbabwe Heads of Christian Denominations (ZHOCD) leader Bishop Lazarus Mpande Khanye said churches in Bulawayo had partnered with government agencies to provide temporary accommodation, food, counselling and transport for returnees arriving through Beitbridge Border Post.
“We met with other churches in Bulawayo to discuss how we could assist returnees coming through Beitbridge after the government and other well-wishers donated buses to transport people from Musina,” Khanye told NewsDay.
“We made arrangements to find venues where these people could be accommodated upon arrival.”
Khanye said many of the returnees were arriving with few personal belongings after fleeing the unrest and were being provided with meals, spiritual counselling, prayer services and transport to their home areas.
The church-led initiative is being coordinated with the Bulawayo Civil Protection Committee under the Ministry of Local Government and Public Works, alongside government departments responsible for civil registration, health services and disaster response.
Bulawayo Provincial Affairs and Devolution Minister Judith Ncube said officials from several government departments had been deployed to reception centres to assist returnees, particularly those who lost identity documents while fleeing South Africa.
“Upon arrival, the civil registration desk collects their details for birth certificate and national identity registration. We have several departments here assisting returnees with critical issues,” Ncube said.
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The intervention comes as Zimbabwe experiences a growing influx of citizens returning from South Africa following anti-migrant protests that have displaced both documented and undocumented foreign nationals.
Church leaders said they would continue working with government and humanitarian partners to ensure returnees receive immediate humanitarian assistance while calling for longer-term programmes to help them reintegrate into their communities and rebuild their livelihoods.
