The impact on the children of undocumented migrants amongst thousands outside the Epping Refugee Centre in Cape Town waiting for the processing of their repatriation, has come under the spotlight.
Initially hundreds of Zimbabwean nationals were transported by the City of Cape Town from the Zimbabwean Consulate in District Six to the Epping Refugee Centre in wet weather conditions over the weekend.
Thousands of undocumented Zimbabwean, Malawian and Mozambican nationals await processing, many of whom have traveled from rural parts of the Western Cape.
Reverend Sikawu Makubalo is from the Methodist Church of Southern Africa.
“What is mainly concerning from our side is obviously the humanitarian side of things, particularly the exposure of children, children sleeping outside in cold weather. Children that are hungry, that is most concerning. We have heard the government saying that they will guard the rights of all people, especially tomorrow on the 30th, but I wonder who is guarding the rights of the children who are exposed in this situation?” says Makubalo.
Video: City of Cape Town to fast-track processing of 3 000 undocumented Zimbabwean immigrants