After Months of Ordeal, Kenyan Man Jailed in Zimbabwe Returns Home

Peter Githami returned to Kenya on Thursday night after months of hardship that took him through South Africa and Zimbabwe, where he was detained for entering without valid travel documents. 

He arrived at Jomo Kenyatta International Airport with no luggage, phone or passport and was reunited with his mother. When Peter walked through the arrivals hall at JKIA, he carried only the relief of being back home. Dressed in a grey hoodie and jeans, he embraced his mother, Mary, ending a difficult journey that began after he lost his travel documents in South Africa.

Before leaving South Africa, Peter said he narrowly escaped an attack when four men chased him in a car. He managed to get away because his motorbike could pass through routes the vehicle could not. The incident reflected the security risks faced by many migrants during a period of growing hostility towards foreign nationals in South Africa.

His attempt to cross into Zimbabwe without valid documents ended at the Beitbridge border, where he was arrested and imprisoned. Peter said he spent several weeks in detention, watching other inmates leave while he remained behind. He said he had committed no crime other than travelling without the required documents.

Meanwhile, Mary had already returned to Kenya after being repatriated during anti-migrant unrest in South Africa. Unable to afford the cost of bringing her son home, she depended on support from others. The Kenyan Embassy in Zimbabwe assisted with his case, while members of the Kenyan community raised money to pay for his flight home.

Peter said he was grateful to everyone who helped secure his return. "I just thank God I'm back home," he said after arriving in Nairobi. For his mother, the reunion ended weeks of uncertainty and anxiety.

South Africa has experienced repeated outbreaks of xenophobic violence, prompting governments, including Kenya, to organise the return of their citizens. Another Kenyan, Ruth Wambui, also recently returned home after spending 13 years in South Africa. She said anti-migrant protests destroyed her home, leaving her and her children homeless before they were repatriated to Kenya.