Immigration

Former car guard gets his master’s degree

Former car guard Albert Mpazayabo’s great regret is that he cannot use his new master’s degree in his own country, Rwanda.

Tariro Washinyira

News | 9 July 2014

“Incomprehensible” that Home Affairs declared 5-year-old undesirable

A recent wave of litigation against Home Affairs following the unheralded implementation of new immigration regulations on 26 May 2014 continued on Friday in Western Cape High Court.

Katy Osborn

News | 7 July 2014

Refugees enduring prejudice twofold

Junior Nsamia Mayema, 25, of Democratic Republic of Congo and Flavirina Naze, 32, from Burundi are refugees and activists. They have endured both xenophobia and homophobia. It has also been challenging for them to integrate with the South African lesbian and gay community.

Tariro Washinyira

News | 27 June 2014

Anxiety grows among Zimbabweans while Home Affairs says do not panic

Some Zimbabweans in Cape Town are asking how one can be patient and not panic when they have lost their jobs, find their bank accounts frozen, their children unable to go to university, and their work permits expiring.

Tariro Washinyira

News | 24 June 2014

Zimbabwean man sues SAPS

A 39-year-old Zimbabwean man, Samson Chifamba, is suing the South African Police Service (SAPS) for R300,000 in damages after an assault at his house at Asanda Village in Strand in January.

Tariro Washinyira

News | 18 June 2014

Zimbabwean alleges he was assaulted by police

A 40-year-old Zimbabwean man fleeing from robbers was allegedly attacked in the grounds of his home in Van Eyssen Street Parow by a group of Law Enforcement Officers last week.

Tariro Washinyira

News | 9 June 2014

Home Affairs says it will renew special Zimbabwean permits

Yesterday the Department of Home Affairs (DHA) announced that Cabinet approved the renewal of permits issued under the Special Dispensation for Zimbabweans.

Tariro Washinyira

News | 21 May 2014

Mother and disabled daughter face deportation after going to hospital

A 46-year-old Zimbabwean woman, Fortunate Makamba, and her 17-year-old disabled daughter, Alice Chitsuro, are facing deportation. Makamba arrived in 2012 after the Cape Town Refugee Reception Centre stopped granting asylum to newcomers.

Tariro Washinyira

News | 19 May 2014

UNHCR responds to Delphine Pedeboy

Here is a response to Delphine Pedeboy’s criticisms of the UNHCR published on 13 May 2014.

Tina Ghelli

Opinion | 16 May 2014

How the UN in Cape Town deals with refugees: an insider’s account

Delphine Pedeboy interned with the United Nations Refugee Agency (UNHCR) earlier this year. It was a frustrating experience, for her but even more so for the refugees she dealt with.

Delphine Pedeboy

Opinion | 13 May 2014

20 years later, Rwandans still struggling to reconcile

Rwandan Hutu cousins, Hakizimana and Kwizera (not their real names), aged 30 and 35, believe the 1994 genocide story is told in a partisan manner, and they say the reconciliation and unity policy is government imposed.

Tariro Washinyira

News | 11 April 2014

What immigrants think of SA elections

GroundUp reporter Tariro Washyinyira asked immigrants what they thought of the South African elections. Some did not want to say anything, but others gave fascinating perspectives. The views expressed by the people Washinyira interviewed, some of which are racist, obviously do not reflect of those of GroundUp or Washinyira.

Tariro Washinyira

News | 4 April 2014

Where is Sipho Ncube?

A 31-year-old Zimbabwean woman who resided in Maitland, Sipho Ncube, has been missing since 4 March 2014. She is believed to have gone to Hout Bay for a job interview. She never returned.

Tariro Washinyira

News | 28 March 2014

Ugandan woman abandoned in South Africa by the lover she met on Facebook

A 28-year-old Ugandan woman, Lydia Mutuwa, who came to South Africa hoping to get a job to look after her children and ailing mother, says her life has become even harder than the life she ran away from in her country of birth.

Tariro Washinyira

News | 18 March 2014

Struggling Zimbabwean author writes about the challenges of living and dying on the Cape Flats

39-year-old Zimbabwean Milton Jaure, also known as Rasmijah, is struggling to get financial support to publish his book of short stories and produce a documentary focusing on the challenges foreigners face when their loved ones die in South Africa.

Tariro Washinyira

News | 17 March 2014

Immigrants apparently unaware of new laws as government tightens up on permits

Immigrants in Cape Town might lose their livelihoods if the new regulations to the 2011 Immigration Amendment Act published in the Government Gazette on 14 February 2014 comes into effect.

Tariro Washinyira

News | 12 March 2014