Zimbabweans living in South Africa have started trickling into the country through Beit Bridge Border Post, amid growing fears of renewed xenophobic attacks.

Immigration officials at the border post said the number of travellers entering the country has, over the past few days, been on the increase. Most of the people are undocumented Zimbabweans.

The regional immigration manager in charge of Beit Bridge Border Post, Mr Charles Gwede, told Mirror that since the beginning of July, they had handled a total of 4 006 undocumented travellers, a sharp increase compared to last month’s 1 139. He could neither confirm nor deny, however, that they were Zimbabweans fleeing possible xenophobic attacks.

“We have been getting more and more people entering the country through Beit Bridge Border Post since the beginning of the week, with statistics indicating that 43 312 travellers entered the country between 1 and 8 July, a majority of them Zimbabweans both documented and undocumented,” he said. "At this stage, it is somewhat difficult to tell whether they are fleeing the possible attacks or not, but we will continue to monitor the situation and our officers are out in full force to deal with any eventuality,” Gwede said.

A local woman from Chivi area in Masvingo and based in Pretoria, who spoke to this paper, said pressure continued to mount as South African hooligans had indicated that they would attack all foreigners after the World Cup. “I stay in Mabopane in Pretoria, and last week I spotted some South Africans harassing some Zimbabweans who were selling their wares in the street. They then went to warn them to flee or face the attacks after the World Cup. In fact, such stories have become an everyday talk, which is what prompted me to ferry my valuables back to Zimbabwe,” she said.

Another traveller, Ms Monica Zhou, also from Chivi, echoed the woman’s sentiments. “I personally left South Africa as a precautionary measure, because some South Africans keep promising that they will deal with us after the World Cup. We also read the same stories in the newspapers every day that foreigners, including Zimbabweans, will be attacked. I therefore decided to take along my two children back to Zimbabwe until everything has calmed down,” she said.

An immigration officer manning the counters, who declined to be named, confirmed that some Zimbabweans had started sending home their belongings and household property as well as children.

The South African government has since set up a ministerial committee to deal with the issue, fearing a repeat of the attacks which occurred across the country in May 2008. The attacks left 62 people dead, more than 100 000 displaced and property worth millions of dollars looted or destroyed.