A heavily pregnant Zimbabwean woman faced a shocking wave of public humiliation at Pretoria West’s Kalafong Hospital, after a group of angry South African women insulted and expelled her, accusing her of burdening their healthcare system.
In a now-viral video, the unidentified woman is seen cornered by the furious group, who berate her over Zimbabwe’s collapsed health infrastructure and accuse her of freeloading off South African taxpayers.
“You always come to South Africa to make babies why?” shouted one woman.
“We pay tax here! Is Mnangagwa paying us anything for your healthcare? Go home and fix your country!”
The mob, growing more aggressive by the second, ordered the distressed woman to “make other plans” for her delivery, warning her she would no longer be welcome at the facility.
Desperately trying to defend herself, the Zimbabwean woman insisted she was not to blame for Zimbabwe’s problems, but her words only seemed to fuel the hostility.
“You’re the problem,” another woman snapped.
“You bring your bag here to give birth now take it and leave! You are not South African.”
NewZimbabwe.com reports that tensions over foreign nationals accessing South African public services, especially healthcare, have been steadily rising amid a worsening economy and heightened political rhetoric.
This latest incident mirrors a troubling trend of xenophobic harassment targeting Zimbabweans across South Africa, where frustrations over unemployment, strained public services, and governance failures frequently spill over into violence and discrimination.
South African authorities have repeatedly expressed concern over what they describe as the “unsustainable pressure” placed on hospitals by undocumented migrants, particularly from Zimbabwe, whose own healthcare system has been crippled by years of economic turmoil.
Sadly, the Pretoria hospital drama is just the latest flashpoint in a broader, deepening crisis—one that shows no signs of easing anytime soon.
