CLAIM : South Africa-Zimbabwe border to open on the 3rd of May 2020 to the 10th of May 2020 to accommodate Zimbabweans who are stranded in South Africa.
RATING: FALSE. There is no truth to claims that the border will be opened for a specific period
The message running viral on several WhatsApp groups in Zimbabwe supposedly from a news site called The South African news is fake. The site is nonexistent.
When Zimbabwe went into a Coronavirus lockdown on 30 March 2020, the government said the borders would remain open to all returning residents, but the returning residents would be subjected to a mandatory quarantine to screen for coronavirus.
The South African Home Affairs Department through its website also announced that: “During the lockdown, except for cases relating to expatriation initiated by another state, all foreign nationals who are currently in South Africa may not depart”.
Zimbabwe, as other States, has continued to accept citizens returning from abroad. However, no special arrangement to open the Beitbridge border for a specific period has been announced.
The South African lockdown which began on 27 March, and was initially expected to end on 16 April, was extended for another two weeks and will end on 30 April 2020, and not in August as claimed by the message.
Zimbabwe Home Affairs and Cultural Heritage Deputy Minister Mike Madiro said: “All plans to repatriate citizens will be announced through the formal channels and not through WhatsApp”.
Conclusion
A social media post claiming that the Beitbridge border post will reopen for a specific period are false.
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