Advocacy & Human Rights — Update

By Collen Makumbirofa · Makumbirofa Farms · Follow-up Report
Sourced from a firsthand account shared directly by Rudo Sharon

There is relief tonight for the many who have been praying for Rudo Sharon. The Zimbabwean woman who became a prominent voice against xenophobic violence in South Africa, and who vanished from public view after posting that she had been arrested, has resurfaced. She is back home in Zimbabwe, and by her own account, safe.

In an earlier report, Makumbirofa Farms detailed Sharon’s disappearance following a troubling social media post in which she indicated she had been arrested, and appealed to readers to pray for her safety given the volatile climate facing outspoken foreign nationals in South Africa. What has since emerged, in Sharon’s own words, is an account of a border crossing that turned into three frightening days in custody.

In Her Own Words — Rudo Sharon’s Account, Shared Publicly on Facebook

Sharon describes an ordinary trip from Zimbabwe into South Africa that took an unexpected turn at the border. She says the Zimbabwean side of the crossing presented no issues, but when she handed her passport to South African immigration officials, the document was scanned repeatedly, and officers began conferring quietly while consulting a computer screen.

After her passport was taken away and minutes stretched on without explanation, she was approached by an officer and told she was being detained for further questioning and investigation. She was then taken to the Musina Police Station.

Sharon says she was informed that authorities were investigating allegations linking her to cyberbullying. She maintains she was given no clear explanation of what she was accused of having done, and instead of being permitted to continue her journey, she was placed under arrest and held in police cells for three days, with her passport remaining in officials’ possession throughout.

She states that after investigations were concluded, no evidence was found connecting her to the allegations. Following her release, she made the decision to cancel her planned trip into South Africa and returned to Zimbabwe, where she says she now feels safe at home.

“I never imagined that a normal trip… would end with me being arrested.”

Sharon’s account raises serious questions that Makumbirofa Farms believes deserve answers from South African immigration and law enforcement authorities. Why was a routine border crossing escalated into a three-day detention over allegations that, by her account, were ultimately unsubstantiated? And to what extent, if any, did her public advocacy against xenophobic violence factor into the scrutiny she faced at the border?

Editor’s Note: This update is based on a firsthand account posted publicly by Rudo Sharon and shared directly with Makumbirofa Farms’ advocacy network. The specific allegations referenced (relating to alleged “cyberbullying”) were, according to Sharon, not substantiated by the investigation that followed her detention. Makumbirofa Farms has not independently verified the internal proceedings of the Musina Police Station or South African immigration authorities regarding this matter, and welcomes any official comment or clarification from those bodies.

Why this matters: Sharon’s ordeal unfolded against the backdrop of a climate Makumbirofa Farms has documented extensively in recent weeks — one in which foreign nationals in South Africa, and particularly those who speak out against xenophobic violence, describe facing heightened risk, harassment, and uncertainty. Her safe return does not erase the three days of fear her family and supporters endured, nor the broader questions her detention raises.

For now, Makumbirofa Farms joins Sharon’s supporters in giving thanks that she is home and unharmed. Her voice, which had gone silent at a moment of real danger, has returned — and so, it seems, has her resolve.

“The Lord is my light and my salvation; whom shall I fear? The Lord is the stronghold of my life; of whom shall I be afraid?”— Psalm 27:1

Makumbirofa Farms will continue to follow this story and welcomes further information from Rudo Sharon, from South African authorities, or from readers with relevant knowledge of the circumstances surrounding her detention.