Hundreds of Zimbabwean nationals are spending nights outside the Zimbabwean Consulate in Cape Town, South Africa, as they appeal to their government for assistance to return home.
By Thursday, the pavements around the consulate were lined with large suitcases and bags wrapped in plastic. Men, women and children huddled together under blankets and jackets to shield themselves from the winter cold after sleeping outside the previous night.
Among those seeking help is Marian Gwanyira, who travelled from Dunoon. She said she now wants to return to Zimbabwe after allegedly receiving threats from neighbours.
Gwanyira moved to South Africa with her husband in 2024 in search of better economic opportunities, saying jobs were difficult to find back home. However, she now faces the prospect of spending another night on the pavement with her husband and baby while awaiting assistance.
Another Zimbabwean national, Spray Vandai, who has lived in Gugulethu for the past four years, said repeated attempts to regularise his immigration status had been unsuccessful.
According to Vandai, he visited the Department of Home Affairs several times in a bid to renew his expired asylum documents but was turned away on each occasion.
He said around 300 Zimbabweans had gathered at the consulate since Wednesday seeking help to return home, amid growing fears of violence as the 30 June deadline set by anti-immigration campaign groups approaches.
Vandai has been assisting by compiling the names and details of those seeking repatriation. He said people have travelled from across the Western Cape, including Bredasdorp, Hermanus, Mfuleni and Khayelitsha, hoping to secure a place on any government-assisted return programme.
He added that many Zimbabweans are choosing to leave because they have lost their jobs or fear dismissal due to documentation challenges.
The developments come as growing numbers of foreign nationals across South Africa opt for voluntary repatriation amid rising anti-immigrant tensions.
In Durban, thousands of migrants have been sheltering around Sherwood Hall, while hundreds of Nigerians have already departed on flights from Johannesburg.
Large numbers of Malawian nationals have also left communities in the Overberg region of the Western Cape and returned home.
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