Tariro Washinyira
Tariro was born in Zimbabwe. She is an activist and a journalist with a Diploma in Communication and Journalism from Christian College of Southern Africa (CCOSA). Currently she is studying for a Community Development Degree through UNISA. After her graduation from CCOSA she worked for The Sunday Mail in Zimbabwe as a court and news reporter. She also volunteered and worked for several non-profit organisations including Scripture Union, AIDS Counselling Trust, Women Empowerment of Southern Africa and Girls and Football South Africa. She has a passion for youth programmes, HIV and AIDS prevention and girls and women empowerment projects.
Tariro's stories published on GroundUp
29 year old Prince Ikenna, a native of Nigeria who set up a successful salon and cosmetics business in South Africa in 2010, launched a new gospel album, "In his presence", at Salt River Community Hall on 16 June 2013.
June 18, 2013
Albert Kafuka heard his landlady's nephew shout, "I wonder why mum allows these ... sexual animals to stay in the house and bring in their dirty behaviours." Kafuka, who is gay, was then beaten up.
June 12, 2013
Somalis marched to Parliament on 7 June in response to xenophobic violence against Somali refugees. About 500 people participated.
June 12, 2013
Evelyn Handiseni founded a support project called Divine Caring Hands in 2012. The idea was born from her desire to help women who face challenges similar to those she has faced in her own life.
February 13, 2013
On Thursday morning I went to see Libertas Flats in Klosser Street, Parow. This block is a human pig sty. It is filthy and stinks. There are leaking ceilings and walls that seem to have been painted a century ago. Many flats are without water and electricity.
February 6, 2013
A Zimbabwean man, Farai Chawasema, who lost all use of his hand in an injury at work on 29 November last year, is accusing his employer, Patrick Pieterse, of Pat's Engineering and a medical practitioner, Ajmal Ikram, of Melomed Gatesville Medical Centre, of failing to get him workman's compensation.
January 30, 2013
More than 20 refugees' children in Cape Town could not be enrolled in schools early this year due to the lack of asylum documents. The refugees have approached several schools in Western Cape but were turned down.
January 23, 2013
Two Zimbabweans who went home for the festive season explain how it was more challenging than they imagined, both financially and crossing the border.
January 16, 2013
A Zimbabwean man who lost an eye when police fired a rubber bullet towards him during the De Doorns farm worker protests is suing the South African Police Service (SAPS) for damages. 25 year old Passmore Mandhlaami, a Good Hope farm employee, said he was caught in the crossfire. He was not participating in the strike.
December 19, 2012
Patients and visitors to one of the Western Cape's biggest referral hospitals, Tygerberg, were recently stranded as most of the toilets especially on the Ground floor and 6th floor were not working and locked. It was extremely difficult to find a toilet to relieve yourself.
December 12, 2012
Netreg and Bonteheuwel residents say they are terrorised by the high crime and killings rates in their communities. Police investigations into crime are hard to carry out since no one is brave enough to act as a witness or provide evidence.
December 12, 2012
Asylum seekers in Cape Town are struggling because their First National Bank (FNB) accounts have been frozen. The bank insists on seeing unexpired asylum documents every three to six months to keep bank accounts active. Many asylum seekers have to wait up to six months for their documents to be approved by Home Affairs and end up not being able to provide the documents FNB insists upon.
December 5, 2012
During the farm violence in De Doorns and other parts of the Western Cape over the last few weeks, thousands of public health system users could not get their medicines because health facilities closed down.
November 21, 2012
Town Two Khayelitsha is the site of tension between a local business association and Somali shops. The Zanokhanyo Business Association (ZBA) is accusing Somali shop owners of not abiding by a 2008 agreement which says that no new foreign owned shops should operate in the townships following the May 2008 xenophobic attacks.
November 7, 2012
Zimbabwean Afro soul music artist Shamie Mabvudzi talks to GroundUp about the challenges he faces as an immigrant in South Africa. His third album African Dream is due out this month.
November 7, 2012
A 25 years old asylum seeker lodged a complaint of bribery with the police against a Cape Town Foreshore Home Affairs official last week.
October 24, 2012
Love Mathobela was born in South Africa and has lived most of her life here, but she is not yet recognised as a citizen.
October 17, 2012
A husband accused of abuse is fighting for his life in the intensive care unit of Eben Donges Hospital in Worcester. His wife alleges he sustained injuries when he intentionally burnt down her shack and property worth R10,000 a fortnight ago.
October 10, 2012
About eighty asylum seekers have launched a complaint with the South African Rights Commission (SAHRC) against the Department of Home Affairs.
October 3, 2012
Last week, twelve soccer teams representing different countries participated in a four-day soccer tournament under the campaign theme "unite as one". The tournament took place in Nyanga and was organised as a Heritage day celebration.
October 3, 2012
Fabiea Thokoana, a 39 year old worker at Kanetvlei Farm in Worcester, says that he is battling to obtain compensation after he lost his middle finger while on duty on 29 May this year.
September 19, 2012
Taurai Hativagone from Zimbabwe says he was conned out of thousands of rands by Sonandi Family Funerals company who failed to deliver on promises to provide services for his brother’s funeral, including sending the body to Zimbabwe by air.
September 19, 2012
More than 300 new asylum-seekers staged a protest outside the Department of Home Affairs' Refugee Centre on Cape Town's Foreshore yesterday. The protest comes after Home Affairs turned away hundreds of asylum-seekers in defiance of a Western Cape High Court judgement instructing the department to process new applicants at the service centre.
September 12, 2012
An ongoing wage dispute that led to an unprotected strike by farm workers highlights the complex relationship between farmers and workers in the De Doorns area.
September 5, 2012
Professional soccer players who are refugees in South Africa have found comfort in establishing an informal soccer club, with the objective of being recognized and playing professionally again, like they did in their birth countries.
September 5, 2012
GroundUp has been reporting on sports facilities in Cape Town's townships. We interviewed Tandeka Gqada, Mayoral Committee Member for Community Services, to find out the city's ideas and plans for making sports facilities more available.
August 29, 2012
At least 40 immigrants trading since 2010 at the Soko African Market, next to Green Market Square, face imminent eviction. Their attempts to negotiate for more notice time before eviction from the Kings Hotel, which owns the property, have failed.
August 29, 2012
Founder and coach of the Brothers of Peace soccer team, Innocent Benya, said that lack of sporting facilities and resources in the Khayelitsha community nearly cost one of the team players his life last year when he chased a ball towards the road and collided with a Golden Arrow bus. He was hospitalised and out of action for three months.
August 22, 2012
Zimbabwean born Garikai Mpala has been stabbed to death, allegedly by two gangsters operating in Khayelitsha. The family was told by the Harare (Khayelitsha) police to bring the two suspects to the police station.
August 15, 2012
Kate Jambela, the owner of Jambela Building Construction, is being accused of exploiting immigrants for the past four years and more recently of dismissing them without paying their accumulated wages.
August 8, 2012
There is a large Zimbabwean community in Cape Town. When members die, their friends and family usually want them to be buried back home in Zimbabwe.
August 1, 2012
Cameroon-born Desmond Chia is a stall owner at the Parow flea market. The harsh weather Cape Town has recently seen makes it hard for him to run his business.
July 25, 2012
Prince Ikenna came to South Africa from Nigeria in 2010 and has set up a successful salon and cosmetics business.
July 25, 2012
Last Wednesday, gay and lesbian rights organisations handed a memorandum to the ANC Western Cape representative, Songezo Mjongile.
July 25, 2012
The brother of a Zimbabwean woman who was murdered last week is accusing her ex-boyfriend in a case that highlights violence against women.
July 18, 2012
Abdirahaman Abdiwali, a leader in the local Somali community, explained some the difficulties Somalis face to GroundUp.
July 11, 2012
GroundUp journalist, Tariro Washinyira, describes the aggravations of taking a minibus taxi from Bellville to Cape Town. But taking the train instead has its own hassles.
July 4, 2012
A Dutch family that has been living in South Africa since 1996 has been struggling with the Department of Home Affairs for 16 years to live and work legally in South Africa. Now a Public Protector report has found that Home Affairs failed the family and abused its power.
June 27, 2012
A document called "Perils and Pitfalls – Migrants and Deportations in South Africa," recently released by People Against Suffering and Oppression, explains how the rights of refugees, children and black South Africans are infringed and abused.
June 20, 2012
Western Cape Northern Line Metro Rail commuters found themselves in a transport commotion last week. Police were alerted on Thursday morning shortly before 7am of a possible bomb between Parow and Tygerberg Stations.
June 5, 2012
GroundUp received several allegations that bribes are commonplace at Maitland Refugee Reception Centre. We decided to investigate.
May 29, 2012
Last week Monday, a house at 28 Van Eyssen Street burned down. The residents of the house had recently been evicted when evidence was presented in court that they were manufacturing illegal drugs on the property.
May 25, 2012
Civil society organizations expressed concern during recent public hearings on the Traditional Courts Bill at the Western Cape Legislature.
May 10, 2012
A Zimbabwean man became extremely ill after contracting meningitis at Lindela Repatriation Centre. His family has accused the Department of Home Affairs of infringing their rights by failing to inform them timeously.
May 10, 2012
When GroundUp journalists visited Maitland Home Affairs, they noticed clients and their children struggling to hop into the portable toilets to avoid the stagnant water surrounding them.
April 19, 2012
Hundreds of disgruntled asylum seekers, who have been turned away for several months without assistance, demonstrated on Friday at the Maitland Home Affairs premises.
April 17, 2012