Some Zimbabweans based in South Africa are making hasty arrangements to leave the country as threats of xenophobic attacks in the aftermath of the FIFA world Cup finals escalate. One group was camped outside a truck stop with their belongings on motorway near Paarl in a desperate bid to catch the first ride out of the Western Cape. They said they had been told by locals that they, along with their their homes, would be burned after the FIFA world cup finals. Civic organisations and churches are among those warning of potential attacks on foreigners after the World Cup, but police have said they have no evidence to suggest that the wave of xenophobic attacks that took place in 2008 would be repeated after July 11.

However several Zimbabweans told South African media they have been attempting to get rides to Johannesburg from truck drivers at "cheaper" rates in a desperate bid to escape what they say are impending xenophobic attacks. From there, they said, it would be easier to catch a bus to Zimbabwe. Some said they had been waiting for five days, while others arrived three days ago. People interviewed by local media said they were fleeing Dunoon, Philippi, Philippi East, Crossroads, Malmesbury, and Grabouw. The Zimbabweans claimed they had been confronted by local residents who threatened to "burn them and their homes", after the World Cup.

Families gathered with as much of their belongings as they could transport, including fridges, microwaves, double beds and mattresses, couches, pots, buckets, and bags of clothes. Tamiriraishe Mazana, who had been working on a chicken farm in Site View in Grabouw, was among the group of more than 50 people waiting outside the Engen Garage before noon on Monday. He and his family had spent the weekend camped outside the garage. They said they would be willing to return to South Africa if there were no attacks after the soccer tournament. "We are scared for our lives. We never know what is going to happen," said Mazana. Rachel Gatsi, who worked in the kitchen on a farm in Grabouw, said she was told "face to face" by her neighbours that she would have to leave. "Some of them tell us, 'We are going to burn you with tyres'... We are scared; we have to go." Tendai Kadzviti, 34, fled his home in Strand's Zwelenthemba informal settlement.

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