My dear brother, I am only responding to your message so that you and many others understand the complexity of deportations.
I call it a revolving door because if you deport someone today to Zimbabwe, due to the porousness of the borders and the corruption at those borders, that person will be back in South Africa tomorrow.
It is not that your government is doing nothing. It is deporting people daily, but they keep coming back.
The only solution that would work is resolving the root cause that drives those people to return.
Unless we address that root cause, the problem of illegal immigration will remain a constant pain in the neck for both the South African government and the South African people.
We do not support illegal immigration, but we cannot just be gung-ho. We must look at it in a nuanced way and see how the problem can genuinely be resolved.
The truth of the matter is that this problem can only be solved if the South African government and other SADC governments have the courage to confront the Zimbabwean government.
Yet that is almost impossible at present because many leaders have personal financial relationships across the region. They put their private interests ahead of the national interests of their own people.
South Africa could get this problem solved tomorrow by talking frankly to Harare, but because it is unwilling to do so, the problem will continue.
Deportations alone mean South Africa loses money, while the very same people it deports will be back within days.
Worse still, if they are caught in South Africa, they can simply pay bribes and avoid deportation altogether.
So let us look at this issue holistically and not emotionally. Let us use our heads. Anything else is just an exercise in futility that enriches the corrupt and punishes ordinary South Africans and Zimbabweans alike.
@bbmhlanga@daddyhope@TrevorNcube When I was arrested, thrown into filthy police cells, and later locked in Chikurubi Women’s Prison, it was easy to feel forgotten, isolated, silenced, and vulnerable. @bbmhlanga my family is forever grateful for yo support & counsel #FreeSpeech
Remembering Zimbabwe’s Joshua Nkomo, who died of prostate cancer on 1 July 1999 at the age of 82 at Parirenyatwa Hospital in Harare.
Joshua Nkomo was a towering African political figure in Zimbabwe’s liberation struggle, revered as a father of the nation and a symbol of unity and resilience.
A trained social worker and nationalist leader, he co-founded the Southern Rhodesia African National Congress in the 1950s and later led the Zimbabwe African People’s Union (ZAPU), fighting for the emancipation of black Zimbabweans from colonial rule.
Nicknamed “Father Zimbabwe,” Nkomo was known for his calm demeanour, inclusive vision, and unwavering commitment to justice.
He was deeply respected for his attempts to promote peace during turbulent times, even when he was betrayed or marginalised. May his soul rest in peace!