Makumbirofa Farms — Advocacy & Human Rights

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Breaking Report

Families — including many young children — have formally declared their lives are not safe in South African communities, as the death toll from xenophobic violence climbs past 40.

By Collen Makumbirofa

Makumbirofa Farms  |  Johannesburg, South Africa  |  June 2026

40+Nationals Killed

12 Shot Dead — Cleveland

40+ Sheltering at Consulate

New video footage emerging from Cape Town tells a heartbreaking story that South Africa’s government can no longer ignore. Zimbabwean nationals — among them a significant number of young children — have fled to their country’s consulate, choosing the uncertainty of diplomatic premises over the terror of communities that have turned violently against them.

These families did not leave quietly or reluctantly. They left with purpose — and with clear words. Speaking openly to consulate officials, they stated without ambiguity: their lives are not safe in South African communities. This is not a complaint. It is a declaration of survival.

“These are poor, vulnerable people — and they are being hunted. Children should not have to flee for their lives. That is not a neighbourhood dispute. That is a human rights crisis.”

The images of children among the displaced carry a weight that statistics alone cannot. These are not hardened adults weighing risk — these are young lives caught in the crossfire of hatred they did not provoke and cannot understand. They have rejected the violent, xenophobic atmosphere of the communities surrounding them, and they have done what any rational human being would do when faced with persistent threat: they have sought safety.

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Context

The wider picture is dire. Approximately 40 foreign nationals have now been killed in the wave of xenophobic violence sweeping parts of South Africa. Among the most devastating incidents was the shooting at Cleveland informal settlement, where 12 people were gunned down — the majority of whom were foreign nationals. These are not isolated incidents. They are part of a pattern that has cost dozens of lives and displaced hundreds more.

⚠ The Rule of Law Has Collapsed

The fundamental crisis beneath this humanitarian catastrophe is one of accountability. The individuals murdering foreign nationals on South African soil are not being arrested. They are not being prosecuted. They are not facing consequences. When perpetrators of lethal violence walk free, the message sent to every vulnerable foreign national is unmistakable: the law will not protect you here. This impunity must end.

It must be stated clearly — and it must be repeated — that not every South African has abandoned their conscience. There are South Africans of extraordinary moral courage who stand alongside their foreign brothers and sisters, who open their doors, raise their voices, and refuse to be complicit in hatred. Their humanity in these dark days must be acknowledged and honoured. The crisis is not a crisis of South African people — it is a crisis of law enforcement, political will, and the protection of the most vulnerable.

“Defend the weak and the fatherless; uphold the cause of the poor and the oppressed.”Psalm 82:3

To the Zimbabwean nationals who have made the courageous decision to seek shelter at the Cape Town consulate: you have done the right thing. Protecting your children, preserving your lives, and declaring in plain terms that you will not accept violence as a condition of residence — this is not weakness. It is wisdom. It is dignity. And it is a rebuke that the international community must hear.

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The world is watching. Children are sleeping on the floors of consular buildings rather than in homes in the communities that should have welcomed them. South Africa’s leaders owe these families — and the memory of every foreign national killed — far more than silence.

Call to Action

We call on South African law enforcement to immediately investigate and prosecute those responsible for the deaths of foreign nationals. We call on the Southern African Development Community (SADC) and the African Union to place this crisis on the regional agenda without delay. And we call on every person of conscience — South African and foreign national alike — to refuse to normalise what is happening.

Foreign lives matter. Zimbabwean lives matter. Every child sheltering at that consulate is a indictment of silence, and a call to urgent action.

Collen Makumbirofa

Founder & Director — Makumbirofa Farms (Pty) Ltd | Advocacy Journalist & Human Rights Defender

Collen Makumbirofa is a Zimbabwean advocacy journalist and human rights defender based in Johannesburg, focusing on xenophobic violence against foreign nationals, gender-based violence, and broader Southern African human rights issues.

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