‘I had a life in SA’: 64-year-old returns to Bulawayo searching for relatives after forced repatriation

A 64-year-old Zimbabwean who spent nearly three decades building a life in South Africa has returned to Bulawayo with no phone, no money and no way to reach relatives he has not seen in almost 30 years. Marisha Mlilo is staying at the United Congregational Church of Southern Africa (UCCSA) transit centre in Njube, Bulawayo, after leaving South Africa following anti-immigrant unrest that forced him to abandon the life he had built.

Leaving home and a life in South Africa

Mlilo told CITE he left Zimbabwe in 1996 after losing most of his close relatives and deciding to try his luck in South Africa. “I left home after realising that there was nothing left for me there. My relatives were no longer around, and I decided it was better to leave and try my luck in South Africa,” he said.

He said life in South Africa had been good and that he had not expected to be forced to return. “Life in South Africa was good until the day we were forced to leave [during the 30 June protests]. Before that happened, I had even hoped that I would live out my life and be buried there in South Africa.”

Cut off and searching for family

After arriving in Bulawayo, Mlilo found himself without the possessions and connections he once had. He said his mobile phone was lost during the unrest, which cut him off from three relatives he believes are still living in Makokoba: Dennis Sibanda, Similo Sibanda and Jikamani Sibanda.

Mlilo recalled that he was once told the family bought meat from a butchery run or owned by people with the surname Moyo near a popular bar in Makokoba, but he could not remember the exact location. He said the suburb has grown and he no longer knows exactly where they live.

Personal losses

Mlilo said his return was made more painful after the end of a seven-year relationship with a woman he lived with in South Africa. He alleged that after the unrest on 30 June she asked him to leave and took his belongings. “On June 30 she turned against me and told me to leave because she no longer loved me. She took my property,” he said.

Context: large-scale repatriation

Mlilo’s return is part of a wider repatriation effort by the Zimbabwean government. Authorities say nearly 100,000 citizens stranded or affected by unrest in South Africa have been assisted to return home, and that about 70% of those repatriated are women and children.

What he is asking for

Mlilo is now searching for the relatives he last saw decades ago and for any information that could help him locate them in Makokoba. He is also staying at the UCCSA transit centre in Njube while he tries to re-establish contact and rebuild his life in Zimbabwe.