In pouring rain, Zimbabwean nationals who had gathered in large numbers outside the Zimbabwean Consulate in District Six were relocated to a Home Affairs Repatriation Centre in Epping on Sunday 28 June.

According to reports, some had been braving the cold and sleeping outside the consulate with their belongings for five nights while waiting to be repatriated to Zimbabwe.

President Cyril Ramaphosa vowed on Thursday to crush any attempts to destabilise the nation during planned anti-immigrant marches this week, amid rising xenophobic tensions. The warning came after citizen-led groups set Tuesday 30 June as an unofficial deadline for undocumented foreigners to leave the country and called for nationwide marches against illegal immigration, following months of growing protests.

Coordinated relocation operation

The City of Cape Town, in collaboration with the Department of Home Affairs and the Zimbabwean Consulate, relocated hundreds of people who had gathered outside the consulate. They were taken to the Home Affairs Repatriation Centre in Epping.

According to the City, the centre “is the designated facility for processing voluntary repatriation and is properly equipped to manage this volume of residents safely and humanely.”

“No Zimbabwean resident wishing to be repatriated should report to the Zimbabwean Consulate. Repatriation requests will not be processed at this location. The Epping Repatriation Centre will be the sole official site for processing before residents are transported to Beit Bridge,” the City said in a statement.

City Safety and Security services were on site to maintain public order and assist with the relocation. The City’s Traffic and Cleansing departments simultaneously managed access routes and waste management in the area.

The City thanked humanitarian organisations operating in the area for their continued support and said it remained committed to ensuring the relocation and voluntary repatriation process was carried out in a safe, orderly and humane manner.

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