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Desperate Zimbabweans risk police or crocodiles to bid to reach South Africa

Published

3 years ago

February 8, 2022

BY NYASHA CHINGONO

A bushy pathway leads to the crossing points along the Limpopo River that are the most treacherous part of the journey for Zimbabweans seeking a better life in South Africa.

The river has flooded after weeks of incessant rain, resulting in three drownings of “border jumpers” last month alone.

A few kilometres away, where the roar of the river can still be heard, men and women clutching small bags of belongings trudge along a different dusty track near Malindi Transit Shed.

At 9am on a Friday morning in February, the route to the bridge connecting South Africa and Zimbabwe is already heavily patrolled by soldiers clasping rifles.

The journey to Beitbridge on the Zimbabwean side is punctuated by five security checkpoints, with a bribe of 50 rand (£2.40) required by the soldiers and police at each stop.

“Where are you going? Come here!” shouts a soldier at a woman in a black tracksuit. After questioning her, he allows the woman to pass.

The path continues to the old Alfred Beit Bridge, where the road crosses the Limpopo between Musina in South Africa and Beitbridge in Zimbabwe. Here, border-jumping guides, known as magumaguma, are ready to assist in illegal crossings.

It is a steady stream, as Zimbabweans fleeing economic turmoil seek opportunities in South Africa, a more stable economy.

Rising inflation, unemployment and poverty drives most Zimbabweans to make the journey.

Those who can afford the bribes take the bridge. Others try their luck in the fast-flowing waters, where crocodiles swim.

The risks are high: about 100 Zimbabweans are deported daily, according to South Africa’s Department of Home Affairs.

But Zimbabweans with little left at home are still making the journey in their droves.

“You just pay 20 or 50 rand and they will let you pass. But at every stop, you have to part with something.

This is the price one pays to gain safe passage,” says Gain Murambiwa*, 38, a taxi driver.

Another driver says it is more expensive in South Africa, where security has been stepped up.

“Anyone serious about crossing should at least part with 600 rand, because it is more expensive in South Africa.

I normally do five or six trips because many people want to jump the border and we are here to help. There is brisk business when the border is closed like this,” he says.

Moud Mbedzi*, 39, is hoping to join her husband, who left for South Africa before the pandemic.

Holding a small bag of clothes, she says: “I have already communicated with someone on the other side who will help me get past security into South Africa.”

She has left her two children in the care of her mother. “Luckily, my husband found a job and if I get one also, we will get enough money to take care of our children. It’s sad to leave them but I have to go,” she says.

Another hopeful traveller is Bright Ntepe*, 30, an engineering graduate.

“There is nothing here for me. I have tried everything. Maybe there is a better life for me in South Africa. I know it is not going to be easy but I will try,” Ntepe says.

The high river levels are undoubtedly deterring some.

At Spillway, a once-popular illegal crossing about a mile from Beitbridge, the men fishing say the river is too dangerous to cross.

“We hardly see anyone coming to cross because the waters are too deep. It is very quiet these days,” says 30-year-old Arnold Muzemba*.

But at other spots the risky crossings continue. Farther along the river, a group of men are repairing a broken wooden boat at one of the few illegal crossing points still in use since the river started rising.

Moses Mbedzi*, 40, transports both people and goods across the river.

His raft is big enough to carry 12 people at a time, plus a refrigerator or other home appliances. Smugglers also pay large sums to move contraband across.

Driving home a nail as he tries to finish the work before the rain comes, he says three of his boats have been destroyed by the authorities in recent weeks, so he is making another one.

“This is the only job I know. How do I feed my family without helping people to cross? I know it is a dangerous job but I have to do it,” Mbedzi says.

“The day before yesterday, they [the security forces] destroyed my raft, but luckily they left the rope that we use to control the raft so that it is not swept away by the current.

“This is a dangerous undertaking, but I cannot sit at home and do nothing.”

The Limpopo runs for about 160 miles (260km) along the border, and the police have just eight bases, 20 miles apart, making it difficult to control.

“These people are adamant. We always take their boats but you will see them the next day with a new one.

They even tried to create a wooden bridge years ago but it was destroyed by our South African counterparts,” a Zimbabwean soldier says.

Zimbabweans who succeed in breaching the border still have to get past dozens of roadblocks on the other side.

According to South Africa’s home affairs minister, Aaron Motsoaledi 13 387 people were arrested at roadblocks between 10 December and 31 December last year for border jumping and smuggling-related offences.

The pandemic has exacerbated smuggling between the two countries, with the South African Police Service (SAPS) saying smuggled goods include cigarettes, explosives and stolen vehicles.

“The South African Police Service is working together with other stakeholders in the Justice, Crime Prevention and Security cluster at the borders as well as on the border line to curb illegal crossings of persons and the smuggling of items,” says its spokesperson, Col Athlenda Mathe.

“On a weekly basis, there are undocumented persons who are mostly job-seekers that are apprehended by the SAPS and handed over to Zimbabwean authorities through a repatriation process which is dealt with by the Department of Home Affairs,” says Mathe.

But even as the authorities in both countries try to stem the flow across the border, the economic crisis in Zimbabwe shows no sign of easing and the number of people prepared to risk the crossing for a better life is only rising. – The Guardian

* Names have been changed to protect their identity

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Coal train in flames: NRZ locomotive damaged in fire incident

Published

2 weeks ago

April 16, 2025

VicFallsLive

BY WANDILE TSHUMA

A National Railways of Zimbabwe (NRZ) locomotive suffered significant damage after catching fire while transporting export coal to Zambi. The incident occurred between Kalala and Matetsi sidings, resulting in the explosion of the locomotive’s fuel tanks.

According to the NRZ press statement on Monday, “A National Railways of Zimbabwe locomotive suffered some damages after it caught fire this afternoon while transporting export coal to Zambia.” Fortunately, the crew members on board managed to escape unharmed.

The NRZ responded swiftly to the incident, dispatching a rescue train with crews to the site. The team successfully extinguished the fire, preventing further damage. However, the locomotive itself sustained considerable damage.

The cause of the fire is yet to be determined, with investigations currently underway. “Investigations are already underway to establish the cause of the fire and the amount of damage to the locomotive,” the NRZ statement read.

In the community

Human-wildlife conflict claims 18 lives in Zimbabwe’s first quarter

Published

2 weeks ago

April 16, 2025

VicFallsLive

BY NOKUTHABA DLAMINI

The Zimbabwe Parks and Wildlife Management Authority (ZimParks) has reported a disturbing trend of human-wildlife conflict in the country’s first quarter of 2025. According to the authority, 18 people have lost their lives, and 32 others have been injured in encounters with wildlife.

ZimParks spokesperson Tinashe Farawo revealed that the authority received 579 cases of human-wildlife conflict, which they managed to respond to promptly. The incidents have also resulted in significant livestock losses, with at least 53 cattle and 85 goats killed by wildlife.

The districts most affected by these incidents include Binga, Hwange, Kariba, Chiredzi, Hurungwe, Nyaminyami, and Mbire. ZimParks has been working tirelessly to raise awareness about wildlife behaviors and effective preventive measures in these areas.

In response to the crisis, ZimParks has translocated 129 animals back into protected areas and eliminated 158 animals deemed problematic.

“We encourage communities to continue reporting incidents to ZimParks Problem Animal Control numbers and local leadership, such as Councillors, Traditional Leaders, and Rural District Council Authorities, to ensure that we preserve lives,” Farawo urged.

The significant increase in livestock losses, with cattle deaths rising from 18 to 53 and goat deaths from 21 to 85 compared to the same period in 2024, highlights the growing challenge of human-wildlife conflict in Zimbabwe.

ZimParks’ efforts to mitigate the conflict include community initiatives to educate people on managing wildlife encounters effectively.

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Tens of Thousands in Zimbabwe Go Hungry as the Rains — and US Aid — Hold Back

Published

4 weeks ago

April 4, 2025

VicFallsLive

Tanayeishe Musau eats baobab porridge after school at his home in Mudzi, Zimbabwe, where the dish has become a daily staple amid worsening drought and hunger. Once a simple supplement, baobab porridge is now a primary meal for families like his, following widespread food shortages and the suspension of international aid.

BY LINDA MUJURU

This story was originally published by Global Press Journal.

Agnes Tauzeni stands on her parched field. She is a mother to two children, and is expecting another. But now, in a time that might otherwise have been joyful, her hopes wither like the struggling crops before her.

Three times she’s gambled on the rains; three times the sky has betrayed her. Her first two plantings failed. The soil was too dry to sustain life. Though her third attempt yielded a few weak shoots, they offered little promise of a meaningful harvest. El Niño-driven droughts have disrupted once-reliable rains, leaving Tauzeni’s family and many like hers struggling to feed themselves.

“I am always hungry,” Tauzeni says.

She worries about the health of her unborn child, based on how little nutrition she consumes herself.

Adding to this, food aid, previously funded by the US Agency for International Development, halted suddenly in January. That transformed what was already a struggle into a desperate battle for survival.

The food aid ended when US President Donald Trump, on his first day in office, issued an executive order that paused nearly all US foreign aid, most of which was administered by USAID. That agency is now all but defunct.

Food aid in Zimbabwe was an ongoing area of funding for USAID. In November 2024, the agency announced $130 million for two seven-year programs, implemented by CARE and Cultivating New Frontiers in Agriculture, that would provide food aid and other related support to areas of Zimbabwe most in need. The programs, which stopped, were just part of an ongoing slate of activities designed to help Zimbabwe’s neediest people.

About 7.6 million people in Zimbabwe — nearly half the country’s population — need humanitarian assistance, according to a 2025 UNICEF report. Of those, nearly 6 million, like Tauzeni, rely on subsistence farming.

Through the support of organizations with funding from USAID, people previously received cereals, edible seeds, oil and food vouchers.

“A sudden withdrawal can put the entire community in a dire situation,” says Hilton Mbozi, a seed systems and climate change expert.

Tauzeni recalls that her community used to receive food supplies such as beans, cooking oil and peanut butter to help combat malnutrition.

When Tauzeni got married in 2017, her fields promised abundance. Her harvests were plentiful, and her family never lacked food. Now, those memories feel like whispers from another world. The past two agricultural seasons, those harvests have been devastatingly poor.

With an empty granary and dwindling options, Tauzeni’s family survives on the same food every day: baobab porridge in the morning and sadza with wild okra in the evening. But Tauzeniworries whether even this will be on the table in the coming months.

“The little maize I have, I got after weeding someone else’s crops, but that won’t take us far,” she says.

Tauzeni says a 20-kilogram (44-pound) bag of maize costs US$13 in her village, an amount out of reach for her. Her only source of income is farming. When that fails, she has no money at all.

Hunger like Tauzeni experiences is widespread. Some families now eat just once a day.

Headman David Musau, leader of Musau village where Tauzenilives, says some people in his village did not plant any seeds this season, fearing losses due to the low rainfall. The government provides food aid inconsistently, usually 7 kilograms (15 pounds) of wheat per person for three months.

“It’s not enough, but it helps,” he says.

But without any other food aid, survival is at stake, he says. “People will die in the near future.”