The number of Zimbabweans coming home from South Africa has "significantly declined", the government said after Tuesday's Cabinet meeting, with about 197,300 people recorded as having returned so far, 263Chat and CITE report.

According to both outlets, 42,553 people had come back through government-supported arrangements as of 6 October, while another 154,741 had returned on their own. 263Chat puts the combined total at more than 197,000.

The numbers

42,553 returned with government help (as of 6 October)

154,741 returned independently

700 deportees from South Africa's Lindela Repatriation Centre received at Beitbridge (as of 24 September)

Of those who returned with government help, 10,475 were men, 13,631 women, 9,001 boys and 9,446 girls, both outlets report.

What the government said

"The nation is advised that the repatriation and reintegration of Zimbabwean nationals from South Africa has significantly declined for both Government-supported returnees and self-repatriates," Acting Information Minister Prof Paul Mavima told the briefing, according to 263Chat.

The 700 deportees from Lindela were received at the Beitbridge Reception and Support Centre. Both outlets say the Joint Operations Command is handling their screening, because some had been serving prison sentences in South Africa and must complete them in Zimbabwe.

Zimbabwe also helped 87,012 Malawians pass through the country on their way home, and all of them have since left and been accounted for, 263Chat and CITE report.

The government said it would keep monitoring cross-border movements and was ready to respond to any future rise in returnees.

Background: the pressure on Beitbridge

The Beitbridge Reception and Support Centre, open since 2005, was built for about 1,000 people in transit a day but had been handling up to 3,000 a day during the peak of the returns, its superintendent told a visiting parliamentary committee, The Herald reported. Officials told the committee the centre needs a permanent upgrade, the paper said.

The Herald also reported that the government had sent trucks to collect property returnees left behind in South Africa and had waived most import duties on household goods.

Getting people back to work

The Ministry of Skills Audit and Development had registered 65,000 returnees in a skills audit at Beitbridge by 10 September, Pindula News reported. Officials said the data would be used to match people to jobs and training, including bridging courses for those with skills but no formal certificates, and named start-up capital as the main constraint.

What we don't know yet

How large the decline is. The briefing, as reported, gave no before-and-after figures.

The reasons people have been returning. The briefing, as reported, did not give them.

Any figures from the South African side.

Sources: 263Chat, 21 Oct 2026: https://www.263chat.com/zimbabwes-south-africa-repatriations-decline/ · CITE (Tanaka Mrewa), 20 Oct 2026: https://cite.org.zw/zimbabweans-returning-from-south-africa-decline-government-says/ · The Herald: https://www.heraldonline.co.zw/built-for-1-000-handling-3-000-beitbridge-centre-buckles-under-pressure-as-calls-grow-for-permanent-upgrade/ · The Herald: https://www.heraldonline.co.zw/42-000-returnees-assisted-as-government-wins-parliamentary-praise/ · Pindula News, 10 Sep 2026: https://news.pindula.co.zw/2026/09/10/65000-zimbabweans-returning-from-south-africa-profiled-for-reintegration-and-jobs/