- Zanu-PF MP Clemence Chiduwa urged Zimbabwe’s parliament to expel 25 000 South Africans in retaliation for the 100 000 Zimbabweans repatriated from SA.
- Justice Minister Ziyambi Ziyambi said President Emmerson Mnangagwa would not support the motion.
- Opposition party MP Corban Madzinyika supported the proposal, accusing the SA government of failing to protect Zimbabweans.
Zanu-PF MP Clemence Chiduwa tabled the proposal in Parliament, arguing that Zimbabwe should adopt a “tit-for-tat” policy of reciprocity after more than 100 000 Zimbabweans were repatriated from South Africa since May, following protests led by anti-immigration groups, including March and March.
“In diplomacy there is a policy of reciprocity. Our people are being chased away from South Africa at the moment. In Zimbabwe, we have at least 25 000 South Africans. Don’t you think, in the spirit of reciprocity, there is a need for us to chase these South Africans back to their country?” Chiduwa asked Parliament.
The proposal was swiftly rejected by Justice Minister Ziyambi Ziyambi, who said President Emmerson Mnangagwa would not support the expulsion of fellow Africans and remained committed to the principles of Pan-Africanism.
“As Zimbabwe we are friends with everyone. Our culture dictates that when our children visit and then they want to come back, we just accept them,” Ziyambi told Parliament.
“We have never had a policy of chasing away visitors.”
He said Zimbabwe would continue welcoming people from across the continent, regardless of developments elsewhere.
“We maintain our Ubuntu. We don’t want to follow borders that were created by colonists and deny our relatives, whether they are from Zambia, Malawi, Mozambique or Botswana. We want to maintain this level of accepting everyone. So if we have brothers and sisters from South Africa, we accept them.”
“Even if our brothers and sisters from South Africa want to visit this side, we accept them since they are our relatives.”
Corban Madzivanyi, MP of the opposition party Citizens Coalition for Change, backed Chiduwa’s proposal, accusing the South African government of failing to protect Zimbabweans from xenophobic attacks.
He said:
The debate comes as Zimbabwe continues repatriating its citizens from South Africa.
Daniel Garwe, Zimbabwe’s local government and public works minister, recently said the government planned to assist in returning more than 70% of an estimated two million Zimbabweans living in South Africa.
“In our Shona language, we say an elephant doesn’t feel the heaviness of its horns. So we are going to make sure that we help in repatriating over 70% of our citizens from South Africa,” Garwe said.