By a Correspondent
A total of 74 Zimbabweans have returned home after deadly anti-foreigner violence in Mossel Bay, South Africa, left three people dead and forced hundreds of migrants to flee their homes.
Among those who fled is Langton Gumira, a Zimbabwean restaurant manager who had lived and worked in South Africa for two decades before returning to Zimbabwe in June 2026 after surviving a violent attack.
Mossel Bay is located exactly halfway between Cape Town and Gqeberha (Port Elizabeth).
By May 2026, Gumira believed he had finally built a stable life. He and his wife were among an estimated one million Zimbabweans who left their homeland during the economic crisis of the mid-2000s.
They arrived in South Africa in 2006 as Zimbabwe grappled with hyperinflation, shortages of basic commodities, fuel and electricity, and the aftermath of Operation Murambatsvina.
“I loved my country. I loved Zimbabwe. But it was not a place we could survive,” Gumira said.
The couple initially settled in Malvern, Johannesburg, where Gumira, who had experience in the restaurant industry from a young age, quickly found employment. Despite securing work, he described life in South Africa as challenging due to persistent concerns about crime and insecurity.
Legal status and a fresh start
Like many Zimbabweans, Gumira initially entered South Africa as an asylum seeker. In 2009, the South African government introduced the Documentation of Zimbabweans Project (DZP), allowing eligible Zimbabweans to regularise their stay.
Gumira received his permit in 2010 and later obtained both the Zimbabwean Special Permit and the Zimbabwean Exemption Permit, which remain valid until May 2027.
Former Home Affairs Minister Malusi Gigaba described the permit programme as a gesture of solidarity with Zimbabwe, grounded in pan-Africanism and human rights.
With legal documentation, Gumira secured a management position at a restaurant in Mossel Bay, where he and his wife settled in KwaNonqaba township.
“For me, Mossel Bay was the most peaceful town in South Africa. I just went to work, came home and stayed indoors,” he said.
Violence erupts
That sense of security was shattered on 29 May when violence targeting foreign nationals erupted in Mossel Bay.
By the end of the unrest, at least three people had been killed: Mozambican nationals Tomas Chunguane and Danilo Muainga, and South African teenager Nhlamulo Sambo. Hundreds of residents were displaced after homes were looted and destroyed.
While at work, Gumira received a warning from a colleague not to return home because of the escalating violence. His employer arranged temporary accommodation in a guesthouse before moving him to a flat.
When he eventually returned to his township home, nearly everything had been looted.
“Couches, fridges, TV. We only had our clothes,” he recalled.
The following day, Gumira said he was attacked while walking to buy bread.
“I thought I was the next victim. I was beaten again,” he said, adding that three men armed with knobkerries assaulted him before he managed to escape by shouting for help.
Returning to Zimbabwe
Following the attacks, Gumira and his wife joined 73 other Zimbabweans and around 300 Mozambicans who returned to their home countries. The group arrived in Harare on 9 June.
“We have nothing. No money, no nothing. How do you start a life in a place you’re not used to at 57 years of age?” he said.
Although he held valid immigration documents, Gumira said he felt unfairly targeted amid growing anti-immigrant sentiment in South Africa.
“You turn on the radio and all that’s being said is ‘illegal immigrants, illegal immigrants’ and I am not even an illegal immigrant. I have my passport, I have my visa,” he said.
Expressing disappointment over the violence, he added: “I don’t understand why our fellow black people in South Africa treat other black people like that. Zimbabweans are peaceful; they don’t attack foreigners. South Africa is a completely different country. I’m sorry, I just don’t understand.”
Thousands of Zimbabweans are arriving back from South Africa, fleeing anti-immigrant protests and unofficial ultimatums that demanded foreign nationals leave the country. The Zimbabwean government has deployed inter-ministerial teams and transport buses to major cities like Johannesburg and Cape Town to facilitate a safe, organized, and dignified repatriation process.
