Third Zimbabwean D!es Following Brut@l Xenophobic Att@cks in South Africa
Tragedy continues to haunt Zimbabwean families living in South Africa after 24-year-old Apology Mandiudza, originally from Zimbabwe, succumbed to injuries sustained during violent xenophobic @tt@cks in Addo, Eastern Cape.
Mandiudza, who had been employed at a citrus farm in Valencia, d!ed in hospital last Tuesday—nine days after being viciously att@cked by a mob seeking revenge for the murd£r of a South African man, Jaune September (22), on 25 May.
The att@cks, allegedly sparked by assumptions that foreigners were responsible for September’s d€ath, claimed four lives—three of them Zimbabweans and one Malawian.
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Despite the brutality, no arrests have been made for either September’s murd£r or the retaliatory violence.
Mandiudza was described by his niece, Pauline Mhlolo, as a quiet, gentle soul with dreams of settling down with his South African girlfriend.
“They had plans to marry. He wasn’t even near the tavern where that young man died, but they still att@cked him,” she said. His @tt@ckers left him with severe head injuries and looted his home.
“I found him lying unresponsive in his hospital bed. It was heartbreaking,” added Mhlolo.
The wave of v!olence also left dozens of immigrant men injured and forced hundreds of women and children to flee.
Many sought temporary refuge at the Addo Police Station and a church hall in Gqeberha.
However, on 1 June, immigration officials raided these shelters, arresting hundreds. At least 127 undocumented foreigners accepted voluntary deportation.
Meanwhile, efforts to repatriate the bodies of the deceased Zimbabweans face financial hurdles. Chris Mapingure of the Zimbabwe Migrants Support Network revealed that it costs over R30,000 to transport a single body back home.
“We’re trying to raise funds, but we’re far from reaching our target,” he said.
