Zimbabweans seek urgent repatriation in Cape Town as anti-immigrant deadline looms

More than 500 Zimbabwean nationals have gathered outside their country's consulate in Cape Town seeking government-assisted repatriation, as fears mount over anti-immigrant demonstrations planned for June 30.

The growing crowds come after anti-immigrant groups issued an unofficial deadline for undocumented foreign nationals to leave South Africa, raising concerns of violence following threats directed at migrants regardless of their legal status.

Families carrying luggage crowded the Zimbabwean Consulate and surrounding streets, with some spending the night on pavements before being allowed inside the building as space became available. Buses periodically transported returnees to Zimbabwe while more people continued to arrive.

Humanitarian organisations distributed food and other aid after local, provincial and national authorities did not provide assistance. Aid groups warned of deteriorating conditions, saying hundreds of people, including children and infants, were living in overcrowded conditions without adequate sanitation or hygiene facilities as heavy rain and colder temperatures were forecast.

"I don't have documents because it's too expensive to get them in Zimbabwe," said Zimbabwean national Mgcini Sibanda. "When we come here, we also struggle to get work permits."

Similar scenes unfolded outside the Malawian Consulate in Johannesburg, where hundreds of Malawian nationals also sought assistance to return home before the June 30 deadline.

South African Minister of International Relations and Cooperation, Ronald Lamola, said immigration laws should be enforced only by authorised state agencies, condemning vigilante-style actions targeting foreign nationals.

"What is becoming problematic for us internationally is the groups that move from house to house enforcing the law and the violent protests that accost foreign nationals to produce documentation," Lamola told reporters on Friday.

Meanwhile, anti-xenophobia activists gathered outside Parliament in Cape Town on Saturday, calling on the government to protect foreign nationals and prosecute individuals accused of inciting or carrying out attacks.

At the same time, about 100 people protested in the coastal town of Hermanus, demanding jobs for South Africans over foreign nationals. Police fired stun grenades after demonstrators refused orders to surrender dangerous weapons.

The developments come amid renewed anti-immigrant sentiment in South Africa, which has experienced repeated outbreaks of xenophobic violence over the past two decades.