A total of 60 stranded Zimbabweans who were living at the Central Methodist Church in Johannesburg, Gauteng, arrived in Zimbabwe through the Beit Bridge Border Post, after they had volunteered to be assisted by the Zimbabwean Embassy in Pretoria to return home.

The voluntary returnees are part of a group of Zimbabweans who fled their country at the height of the economic problems to countries such as South Africa, Botswana, the United Kingdom, Canada and the United States of America.

The returnees arrived in their country on Friday, following assistance by the International Organization for Migration (IOM), which sent its bus to ferry them from Johannesburg.

The IOM spokesperson, Ms Erin Forster, told Mirror that her organization assisted 60 voluntary returnees from South Africa. She added that it was a joint effort between the Zimbabwean and South Africa governments, the Southern African Insti-tute for Migration Affairs and other stakeholders to bring these returnees home.”

She said the returnees had approached the Zimbabwean Embassy in Pretoria, which subsequently sought the assistance of IOM to help with transport to ferry them.

Soon after their arrival in Zimbabwe, the returnees were taken to the IOM reception and support center in Beit Bridge, where they were given food before they were then subsequently ferried to their respective homes.