Mother And Three Children Left Waiting After Moving To Zimbabwe
A South African woman’s hopes of starting a new life with her husband in Zimbabwe have been dashed after his family allegedly refused to take her in. Charlotte Masemola, 34, travelled from Mpumalanga to Zimbabwe with her three young children after her husband encouraged her to join him, but she is now staying at a transit centre in Bulawayo while he looks for alternative accommodation.
SA Woman Says Husband Invited Her To Zimbabwe
CITE reports that Masemola arrived in Zimbabwe on Tuesday, 14 July 2026, after her husband, who had returned to Zimbabwe in May following anti-immigrant unrest in South Africa, told her it was safe to join him.
She and her children, aged seven, six and two, are among people being accommodated at the United Congregational Church of Southern Africa transit centre in Bulawayo’s Njube suburb.
Masemola said she made the journey because she wanted her children to be reunited with their father.
“My husband returned to Zimbabwe around May after fleeing the unrest. I was left alone with the children in South Africa, and they kept asking about their father.”
She said she accepted his invitation because she could not afford other transport.
“We spoke, and he told me it was okay for me to come, so I took advantage of the buses that were repatriating people because I had no money for transport.”
Masemola said she travelled using her South African identity document because she does not have a passport. She added that she informed border officials she was a South African citizen.
Husband Says Family Rejected The Couple’s Plans
After arriving in Zimbabwe, Masemola said the reunion did not unfold as expected. She claimed her husband later told her that the relatives they intended to stay with no longer wanted to accommodate her.
“He said he has been busy at work, and that is why he hasn’t come. I don’t even know where he works.”
She also said her husband sent his brother to explain the situation.
“He only sent his brother, whom I knew from South Africa, to visit us here. He is the one who explained what was happening because I no longer have my phone.”
When contacted by CITE, Masemola’s husband, who declined to be named, confirmed that he intended to collect his wife and children.
“The challenge is that my family did not want to accept her. I have since asked my friends to help me look for a place for us to stay.”
He said that if he could not find accommodation in Bulawayo, he planned to relocate the family to his rural home in Gwanda.
As of 16 July 2026, the family’s immediate future remained uncertain as they waited for suitable accommodation to be secured.
The post Zimbabwe Reunion Plan Unravels As SA Woman Is Turned Away By Husband’s Family appeared first on iHarare News.
