A Zimbabwean woman who was recently featured in a viral video after being evicted from her rented accommodation in Diepsloot, South Africa, has found help from the local community back home in Matabeleland.

Sukoluhle Gabanke Sibanda was reportedly chased out of the shack she had been staying in, leaving her without a place to seek shelter.

Thenjiwe Zwane, a Diepsloot community member, said she found Sibanda stranded in the streets on the day in question when she returned from work.

“When I asked why she had been evicted, neighbours said she was ejected because she behaved strangely, was aloof and hardly talked to anyone,” Zwane said.

According to Trynos Mkhuhlane Ncube, one of the community leaders who helped Sibanda, said a message about her distress spread quickly, reaching people back home in Zimbabwe.

Concerned for her well-being, the community decided to step in. On Saturday, a group of residents led by Ncube from Tjehondo, Kezi, Matabeleland South travelled to Diesploot in Johannesburg to locate Sibanda.

The group included her brother and local volunteers. Ncube said they were joined by people from the surrounding areas, including schoolmates who had known Sibanda from primary school. When they arrived in Diepsloot, they initially struggled to locate her.

They soon learned that Sibanda’s neighbours and another man had been helping her and assisting in keeping her belongings safe.

“We received a message where it was said the lady had been evicted from the shack she had been staying in, and she urgently needed shelter as she no longer had a place to hide her head,” said Ncube.

He said upon finding her, the group was relieved to learn that the neighbors had been taking care of her belongings and offering assistance. “When we arrived, we found out that she had gone to sell second-hand clothes, but we soon discovered that the neighbors and another man had been helping her by looking after her belongings,” Ncube explained.

He commanded South Africans who came to Sibanda’s rescue.

“The neighbors treated us kindly and showed us true humanity, guiding us in the right direction,” Ncube reflected on the support they received in South Africa. “They encouraged her to return to her home region, where she would be safer and have more stability.”

Ncube said Sibanda faced discrimination from some locals who mistook her for a stranger with no family ties.

“We were told that some people were rejecting her because they had never seen her relatives or any visitors. They assumed she was just a stranger with no family,” Ncube added.

He urged Zimbabweans living in South Africa to support each other.

“We would like to advise all people from Mthwakazi (Matabeleland) to learn to care for each other when they are far from home, especially when one of their own is in need.”