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Another Zimbabwean dies after xenophobic attacks in Addo
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A 24-year-old Zimbabwean man, Apology Mandiudza, died last Tuesday in hospital, nine days after a brutal mob attack in Valencia, Addo. He was the fourth immigrant to lose his life in a wave of xenophobic revenge attacks that erupted on 25 May following the murder of 22-year-old South African Jaune September.
While the identities of the other three victims remain unknown, it is understood that two were Zimbabwean and one Malawian. Authorities have yet to make any arrests related to either September's killing or the retaliatory mob violence.
Originally from Zimbabwe, Mandiudza had recently started his first job on a citrus farm and was in a long-term relationship with a South African woman, a union his niece Pauline Mhlolo said was headed toward marriage. Mhlolo described her uncle as a quiet and gentle man who was nowhere near the tavern where September was killed. Despite this, Mandiudza was attacked with a sharp object, suffering fatal head injuries, and his home was ransacked with most of his belongings stolen.
"I saw him lying helplessly in his bed at Livingstone Hospital. He was not responding to our voices," Mhlolo recounted.
The xenophobic violence saw dozens of immigrant men beaten and hospitalized, while hundreds of women and children were displaced, forced to seek refuge at Addo Police Station and a church hall in Gqeberha. On 1 June, immigration officers from the Department of Home Affairs inspected these shelters, leading to hundreds of arrests and 127 voluntary deportations.
Jaune September was laid to rest peacefully in a well-attended funeral last Saturday. Ward councillor Xolani Jonas urged the immigrant community to return home in the wake of the violence.
Chris Mapingure, chairman of the Zimbabwe Migrants Support Network, highlighted the financial and logistical challenges involved in repatriating the bodies of the three murdered Zimbabweans. "Transporting one body to Zimbabwe costs about R32,000," he said, noting efforts to raise funds from Zimbabwean communities across the Eastern Cape, but acknowledging that much more support is needed.
While the identities of the other three victims remain unknown, it is understood that two were Zimbabwean and one Malawian. Authorities have yet to make any arrests related to either September's killing or the retaliatory mob violence.
Originally from Zimbabwe, Mandiudza had recently started his first job on a citrus farm and was in a long-term relationship with a South African woman, a union his niece Pauline Mhlolo said was headed toward marriage. Mhlolo described her uncle as a quiet and gentle man who was nowhere near the tavern where September was killed. Despite this, Mandiudza was attacked with a sharp object, suffering fatal head injuries, and his home was ransacked with most of his belongings stolen.
"I saw him lying helplessly in his bed at Livingstone Hospital. He was not responding to our voices," Mhlolo recounted.
The xenophobic violence saw dozens of immigrant men beaten and hospitalized, while hundreds of women and children were displaced, forced to seek refuge at Addo Police Station and a church hall in Gqeberha. On 1 June, immigration officers from the Department of Home Affairs inspected these shelters, leading to hundreds of arrests and 127 voluntary deportations.
Jaune September was laid to rest peacefully in a well-attended funeral last Saturday. Ward councillor Xolani Jonas urged the immigrant community to return home in the wake of the violence.
Chris Mapingure, chairman of the Zimbabwe Migrants Support Network, highlighted the financial and logistical challenges involved in repatriating the bodies of the three murdered Zimbabweans. "Transporting one body to Zimbabwe costs about R32,000," he said, noting efforts to raise funds from Zimbabwean communities across the Eastern Cape, but acknowledging that much more support is needed.
Source - NewZimbabwe
