Back from South Africa, Zimbabweans face a harder test: earning a living

Sidney Bunya brought carpentry tools back from South Africa and turned his savings into a business that now employs five people. Samantha Chimbuya returned to Zimbabwe hoping for a grant to start a small business, but says none has arrived. Their experiences, reported by Al Jazeera, show the gap between getting home safely and finding a way to earn a living.

Both left South Africa as anti-immigrant pressure intensified ahead of a June 30 departure deadline set by activists for undocumented migrants. March and March, one of the groups behind the deadline, blamed migrants for taking jobs and straining public services. The South African government did not impose the deadline. It said June 30 would be a normal day and warned against violence and intimidation. Even so, thousands left amid fears of unrest.

By July 28, 116,670 Zimbabweans had returned, Information Minister Zhemu Soda said. Of that total, 36,940 received government assistance and 79,730 made the journey independently. Soda also reported that 38,057 had registered for employment. The figures put a scale on the challenge facing a country where returnees are struggling to find work and support.

Home, but without an income

Chimbuya, 30, left Zimbabwe in 2019 seeking better opportunities. In South Africa, she found work, could buy food and had access to healthcare. She also believed her two children had better educational opportunities. But raids on homes and warnings to leave made life in KwaZulu-Natal feel unsafe, she told Al Jazeera. She paid for her journey back to Hurungwe in northern Zimbabwe and now depends on relatives and friends. Her husband remains in South Africa, where she says he is also struggling.

Reverend Useni Sibanda, executive director of the Zimbabwe Christian Alliance, said many people were returning after years abroad without jobs or enough assistance. Some had not bought homes or property in Zimbabwe, leaving them with few resources to draw on. Churches have provided shelter, food and transport, but Ray Motsi, president of the Theological College of Zimbabwe, said demand was overwhelming. He argued that government support needed to extend beyond the journey home.

Returnees need a planned effort to help them rebuild their lives, not just transport across the border, Motsi said.

Skills offer a route back to work

Bunya’s experience shows what practical skills and savings can make possible. He left Zimbabwe in March 2020 because of economic hardship, took various jobs in Johannesburg and later learned carpentry in Port Elizabeth through contacts introduced by a cousin. He eventually won large projects, specialising in roof trusses, the frames that support roofs. In 2026, groups checking permits began raiding his workplace. With only a passport, he found employers increasingly reluctant to hire him because of the harassment.

Before the June 30 deadline, Bunya shipped tools to Zimbabwe and returned to start his business. He told Al Jazeera that establishing it was difficult, but orders were growing. Motsi said churches had also teamed up with local businesses to train people in welding, carpentry and computer science.

Local Government Minister Daniel Garwe said authorities were assessing returnees’ skills and needs and establishing reintegration centres to help them settle back in. Education authorities were considering qualified returnees for teaching posts. Companies were being encouraged to hire skilled workers, while vocational training and business support were under consideration. Harare human rights activist Rashweat Mukundu called for longer-term help, including small grants, farming inputs and machinery. The next test is whether those proposed routes to work and business funding become practical support for people such as Chimbuya.