Of Crocodiles, Magumaguma, Hyenas, and Malayitsha: Zimbabweans Crossing the Limpopo in Search of a Better Life in South Africa
Of Crocodiles, Magumaguma, Hyenas, and Malayitsha: Zimbabweans Crossing the Limpopo in Search of a Better Life in South Africa

Author(s): Chipo Hungwe
Subject(s): Geography, Regional studies, Labor relations, Criminology, Studies in violence and power, Migration Studies
Published by: Transnational Press London
Keywords: Agents; dabulapu; migration; malayitsha; survival; undocumented;
Summary/Abstract: Many stories have been told of how ‘hyenas’ facilitate undocumented migration and in the process negotiate and protect migrants from the much feared magumaguma who prey on the ‘innocent lives’ of would-be migrants desiring a better life in South Africa. The paper relies on first hand accounts of individuals who have crossed the Limpopo River and Zimbabwe-South Africa border as undocumented migrants. It utilises qualitative in-depth interviews of Zimbabwean migrants in Johannesburg. These individuals have had to deal with some, if not all, of the following: ‘hyenas’, crocodiles, magumaguma and the malayitsha. This paper demonstrates the central role of human smugglers such as the malayitsha and hyenas/impisi and the precarious nature of undocumented Zimbabwean migration showing the sheer will to survive against all odds; migrating to a perceived better life. Death will not deter migration or the aspiration to change one’s life by migrating. The paper creates a good case for the need for further research targeting the magumaguma and the malayitsha so that a critical mass of literature can be created on these human smugglers. This paper is important as it comes up with a conceptual framework on understanding undocumented Zimbabwean migration to South Africa.

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