Articles for Tariro Washinyira

Zimbabwean kids detained after being smuggled into SA

The parents and relatives of six Zimbabwean children and five adults have found themselves helpless after malaichas (their smugglers) were arrested for human trafficking.

Tariro Washinyira

News | 11 December 2013

Police throw victim in jail with perpetrators

Talent Chikwanha alleges he was brutalized by police officers on 29 November when they mistook him for a criminal. He was in fact the victim of an ATM robbery at Fairview, Grassy Park.

Nwabisa Pondoyi and Tariro Washinyira

News | 11 December 2013

Cape Town’s last refugee processing centre might close

Human rights organisations have opposed the possible closure of the Cape Town Refugee Reception offices on the foreshore.

Tariro Washinyira

News | 11 December 2013

Tried twice for expired asylum papers: bureaucratic nightmare for Zimbabwean farm workers

The hardships and inconsistencies of the South African refugee system are illustrated by what has happened to Zimbabwean asylum seekers who work on a farm near Vanwyksdorp, a tiny rural town in the Western Cape, more than four hours drive from Cape Town, that is only served by gravel roads.

Tariro Washinyira and GroundUp staff

News | 28 November 2013

Muizenberg shack-dwellers flooded out of their homes

44-year-old Nomfundo (not her real name) says for the past 20 years she has lived in the informal settlement outside Capricorn, Muizenberg. She always dreads rain as it comes with the possibility of floods.

Tariro Washinyira

News | 21 November 2013

Parow soup kitchen offers vital service to hungry and homeless

Louis Titus, a 60-year-old married man from Elsies River, was introduced to the Vineyard soup kitchen in Parow four months ago by a friend. Titus worked for the City of Cape Town for 20 years. He currently receives a R1,500 monthly pension. His wife is unemployed. Titus takes the food he receives home to his four children.

Tariro Washinyira

News | 20 November 2013

Angolan who grew up in SA risks being sent back

Jesus Espirito Do Santos has lived in South Africa since he was three. He is at risk of being sent back to Angola where he was born. Yet he only speaks English and Afrikaans and can’t speak Portuguese.

Tariro Washinyira

News | 5 November 2013

Daily grind of a Zimbabwean mother

Nancy Muzembe, originally from Zimbabwe, struggles against all the odds to give her son a good education.

Tariro Washinyira

News | 29 October 2013

Home Affairs continues to defy court order and refuses to serve new asylum seekers

A decision taken in 2012 by the Department of Home Affairs (DHA) to stop processing new applicants at the Cape Town refugee reception office has resulted in asylum seekers having to travel long distances at great cost to be documented and renew their permits.

Tariro Washinyira

News | 23 October 2013

Striking parking attendants allege they have not been paid since 2009

Rene Mayinga from the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) is on strike. He claims his employer, Street Parking Solution (SPS), which won a tender in July 2008 from the City of Cape Town to collect parking fees in the CBD, has not been paying him since 2009.

Tariro Washinyira

News | 21 October 2013

Citizenless Brian

What drives a 15-year-old boy to move to a neighbouring country on his own and without his guardian’s consent? Meet Brian Dlodlo, now a 20-year-old man from Zimbabwe who crossed to South Africa through Beitbridge Border Post as an unaccompanied minor in 2007. Brian has no identity papers. He is effectively the citizen of no country.

Tariro Washinyira

News | 16 October 2013

Alexander Court, Parow: tenants say their lives are in danger.

Property owners and tenants of Alexander Court in Parow say they are being terrorised by drug lords and sex workers who trespass on their balconies.

Tariro Washinyira

News | 15 October 2013

What to do in the school holidays?

Over the school holidays GroundUp went to canvass various school children about their activities.

Tariro Washinyira

News | 2 October 2013

Zimbabwean man dies in Langebaan police cells

A Zimbabwean family has accused the police of negligence and human rights abuses after 29-year-old Arthur Padzakashamba died in custody in the Langebaan police cells. The family alleges that he was arrested when reporting a domestic violence case against his estranged wife after she had allegedly stabbed him on 6 September 2013.

Tariro Washinyira

News | 25 September 2013

Angolans lose refugee status

Petro Nzazi (not his real name) and his young brother are refugees from Angola. They have lost their refugee status, and they are now left without any identity documents.

Tariro Washinyira

News | 25 September 2013

SJC activists arrested during protest outside Mayor’s office

Several Social Justice Coalition (SJC) members who chained themselves to railings at the Civic Centre in Cape Town this morning vowing they would not budge until Mayor Patricia de Lille addressed them, were arrested and held at Caledon Square Police Station. They have not yet been charged.

Tariro Washinyira

News | 11 September 2013