A 23-year-old-Zimbabwe border jumper was shot and seriously injured by two unknown suspects near the Limpopo River on the South African side of the border last Wednesday.

Vhembe District police spokesperson Insp Thivhulawi Tshilate said the man was in the company of a colleague when he was shot. “The victim, who was in the company of a friend, also from Zimbabwe, had entered South Africa illegally through an undesignated entry point, when they were intercepted by two unknown men, armed with a pistol,” Tshilate said. According to him, the two men demanded money from the two suspected border jumpers.

“The two suspects ordered the victim and his colleague to lie down. They then search them, but could not find any money, resulting in one of the suspects’ pulling out a pistol and shooting the victim in the left thigh,” said the police spokesman. The two assailants then fled into the bush, he said.

The other border jumper then reported the matter to the police, who were on patrol along the Limpopo River. The victim, Martin Chiduku, was taken to the Musina hospital for treatment. Tshilate said they have since launched a manhunt for the two suspects. He appealed to members of the community to assist the police in locating the suspects.

Recently, another Zimbabwean escaped death by a whisker, after an unknown assailant shot him near the Limpopo River while he was trying to cross into South Africa.

Armed robbers have laid siege on the Zimbabwe-South African border, where they target border jumpers and smugglers using undesignated entry points.

Hundreds of Zimbabweans continue to enter South Africa illegally in search of employment on the farms in the Limpopo Province. Despite deportations by local authorities, illegal immigrants continue to flock back into South Africa, oblivious of the dangers of being attacked by crocodiles in the Limpopo River.