The United Congregational Church of Southern Africa (UCCSA) in Bulawayo’s Njube suburb has become the primary refuge for hundreds of Zimbabweans fleeing anti-foreigner violence in South Africa, with about 900 people arriving at the church centre over the past 10 days following marches that ordered foreign nationals to leave the country.
Bishop Lazarus Khanyi, speaking on behalf of Bulawayo churches, said the UCCSA centre wasworking with Bulawayo Provincial Affairs minister Judith Ncube and government institutions to “softland” returnees who have endured weeks of intimidation and violence.
“We stood as the churches of Bulawayo and said let’s softland our children,” Khanyi said.
“From the past 10 days about 900 people have come to this centre. Two to three buses arrive here every day.”
Returnees arriving at Njube have shared traumatic accounts of their final days in South Africa.
Many had lived there for 20 years only to find family homes sold or no relatives left in Zimbabwe.
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Others described being tenants to South Africans before Dudula groups targeted them.
“They look at your complexion. Because they’re tenants to South Africans, the South African people would call the Dudula people to come because they would be eyeing the foreigners’ properties.
“They loot their properties even at gunpoint. Others took what they could,” Khanyi added.
The journey home has proven equally perilous.
Some returnees spent four to five days finding their way to the Beitbridge border, dodging harassment along the way, while congestion at the border has worsened the crisis.
While churches have mobilised to cook meals so arriving buses find food ready, Khanyi said the centre was now severely strained, with onward transport the biggest challenge.
“The border is full. We have a problem with cash. The buses that take them from South Africa only bring them to this church, and those that can take them any further are few,” he said.
“That is where we have a problem of cash. Only if we had a float of cash so that we can pay for them as they are going to their respective homes.”
Food supplies are also running short, especially for returnees travelling long distances to places like Binga.
“A person who will be going to Binga needs food to facilitate the hunger all the way.
“We don’t have a donor but the churches are donating; they have taken the priority,” he said.
District administrators come to collect returnees from the church, but transport and meal costs remain a critical gap.
Despite their trauma, Khanyi noted the remarkable spirit of the returnees.
“What I like when they come here is their acceptance. You could see they are happy,” he said.
Support has come from various quarters.
Bulawayo South Member of Parliament Raj Modi donated a water bowser and installed WiFi at the facility to help returnees contact relatives.
Members of the public have also donated food, clothes and blankets.
Government is coordinating with district administrators to receive returnees, but church leaders say more resources are urgently needed to move people beyond Bulawayo to their final destinations.