First published in the Daily Maverick 168 weekly newspaper.
In early January, President Cyril Ramaphosa announced that South Africa’s land borders would be closed until at least mid-February due to the Covid-19 crisis. This includes the Beitbridge crossing between South Africa and Zimbabwe, a border that is exceptionally dangerous thanks to what some risk their lives trying to smuggle through it – explosives that could ignite at any moment.
Mercy Rifundo, a mother of four from Zimbabwe, farmed beans and occasionally travelled to Johannesburg, where she would stay, to sell her produce.
On 17 August last year, she planned to travel into South Africa, this time apparently under the impression she was also transporting floor polish in her luggage on behalf of people who knew her landlord in Johannesburg.