Breaking Report

It is widely reported that Madzibaba Innocent Maunganirwa and his brother went into the bush to pray, in an area of Mpumalanga where certain South Africans were performing traditional rites. Their presence provoked the group. They stoned Madzibaba Innocent until he died. His brother narrowly escaped with his life.

“This is murder. It is wrong, even if Madzibaba disturbed their traditional rituals. All human life is sacred.”

Violence does not solve any problem. A man went to pray. He did not go to attack, to steal, or to destroy. Whatever offence his presence may have caused, nothing justifies stoning a human being to death. Police must investigate this killing fully and arrest the suspects responsible. We condemn this murder in South Africa, without reservation.

This killing did not happen in isolation. It happened while Zimbabweans and other foreign nationals across South Africa are being attacked and chased from their homes. Goods worth hundreds of thousands of rand have been looted from foreign-owned homes and businesses. The Zimbabwean government has confirmed that more than 78,000 of its citizens have now returned from South Africa amid the ongoing unrest, with thousands more self-repatriating independently. Dozens of foreign nationals are reported to have been killed at different places across the country in this same period.

The Pattern We Are Documenting

• Foreigners harassed and attacked, in some areas in full view of police.
• South African citizens of Tsonga and Shangaan origin mistaken for foreigners, beaten and looted alongside them.
• An economy already under strain, further destabilised by mob violence and lawlessness.

The war, in effect, is going on. In some areas, foreign nationals are harassed and attacked in front of the police, with no intervention. South African citizens from the Tsonga and Shangaan tribes have been among the hardest hit by this wave of xenophobia, mistaken for foreigners and subjected to the same beatings, harassment, and looting.

Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called the children of God.Matthew 5:9

South Africa must return the rule of law. The anti-immigrant mobs ruining the peace, and an already suffering economy, must be brought under control before more lives are lost. Madzibaba Innocent Maunganirwa went to pray. He should have come home.

Note: Details of this incident are drawn from firsthand accounts gathered through Makumbirofa Farms’ advocacy network and consistent with reporting circulating from the affected community. Repatriation figures are cross-checked against the most recent official statements from the Zimbabwean government. Police findings, once released, will be reflected in any follow-up report.