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Thandeka Moyo-Ndlovu, Senior Reporter

A woman who left the country 65 years ago and lived as a destitute Mozambique finally reunited with her family in Bulawayo’s Nguboyenja suburb but their joy was shortlived as she was arrested with her 15 family members for entering the country illegally.

Ms Magriti Gama, who left the country as a two-year-old with her younger brother and father in 1957, brought with her a family of 15 members she had in the neighbouring country.

Her brother died in Mozambique.

Both her father, who used to frequent Mozambique, as well as her mother died at their Nguboyenja house.

Ms Gama’s family’s celebration in seeing her was short-lived as neighbours alerted police that she and the group she came with could be in the country illegally.

The 16 undocumented members of the family were then handed over to police for contravening immigration laws.

They had set out on a long journey to Zimbabwe in a haulage truck after a Good Samaritan offered to take Ms Gama back home as she had been longing to be reunited with her family.

Due to a language barrier, she and her family were dropped off in Mbare, Harare where they spent two days and two nights at the rank with nowhere to go.

A well-wisher eventually chipped in and managed to get bits of information from the Chewa and Portuguese speaking 16 member-family who gave him Gama’s younger sister’s phone number.

Her heart broken sister Ms Ntombezinhle Sibanda who was born nine years after Ms Gama left the country has since let out a heartfelt plea for assistance to get documentation for her ailing sibling who has been incarcerated with her three children at Mlondolozi.

“When we grew up my father who was originally from Mozambique would tell us that he took two of our elder siblings born in 1954 and 1957 there sometime in 1957. He was gainfully employed in Zimbabwe and lived here in Nguboyenja with our mother but our parents would frequent Mozambique.

“We would hear of their wellbeing but we never got a chance to visit except for one of my elder brothers who would visit Mozambique. Originally we are Gamas but we used Sibanda as a family surname,” she said.

“In 2011 my father went to Mozambique after my mother had long died. After his visit he indicated that my sister was alive and had a family but she was definitely going to come back home. That following year my father died and our relatives who lived in the neighbouring country have been dying as well.”

According to Ms Sibanda the family got a call on September 5 this year with news that her sister was on her way home.

She said the person who called said she was coming with five other people including her children and grandchildren.

“On the 7th we got a call from a well-wisher from Mbare telling us that our family had spent two days at the Harare rank without food, bus fare and accommodation. The person asked us to raise US$105 to help transport them but we didn’t have. We heard that drivers decided to contribute and transport them to Bulawayo.”

Ms Sibanda said to her surprise, she discovered that her sister, who is her lookalike although old, had brought 15 other people, her three children, a son-in-law and 11 grandchildren aged from 2-16 years.
She said they only carried a handful of clothes and three of the children including her sister Magriti were very sick.

“We took them home to Nguboyenja where we are staying as a family of 14 and became one happy family of 30. We knew that the circumstances were unfavourable but we were determined to find a solution as we could not chase them away.

These are our blood relatives.

“None of them can speak IsiNdebele or English, in fact all of them never went to school as they lived in those impoverished villages in Mozambique.

We, however, managed to communicate with my sister in ChiChewa who narrated her struggles including losing three children in Mozambique.”

Ms Sibanda said the family had to put up a tent to complement their three rooms they were now sharing with the latest addition to their clan.

“We also approached the local councillor and updated him about our predicament as we needed help on the way forward. On Friday last week at around 8PM, a truck full of police and soldiers came and collected my sister and her family. Someone could have tipped them off as some neighbours had become suspicious.

“The following day they went to court and the four female adults went to Mlondolozi, while our son-in-law went to Bulawayo Prison and all the children were taken to a children’s home.

On Monday we went to Khami to visit my sister who is very sick and officers demanded that we should be cleared by Zimra to see her as they had no proof that we are related.

My sister has been suffering all her life in a foreign land and our wish is to have her birth registered so that she is able to get documentation for her family,” she said.

Ms Sibanda also said: “Unfortunately, she was born in a house in Mzilikazi which was a temporary maternity room for council back then and besides witnesses from our family we cannot prove her birth.

Three of her children died mysteriously in Mozambique which forced her to come back home illegally and I doubt that she will stomach being deported with her family, it will definitely take her to an early grave.”

Contacted for comment, Mr Phumulani Mpofu director for Trinity Project which deals with citizens in need of identity documents said Ms Gama’s case may sound complex but she may be helped if it can be proved that she was born in Zimbabwe.

“I think officials at the registry will be able to help her if it can be proved that she was born in Zimbabwe because she is the key person in all this.

The family may also need to identify where she was born so that Gama is registered which will then enable others to get help,” said Mr Mpofu. – @thamamoe