Namhla Tshisela

Namhla Tshisela

Oscar Bukutu is going back home to Zimbabwe after a week of Christmas shopping in Johannesburg.

Standing on Simmonds Street clutching a five-litre bottle of cooking oil, Bukutu, pictured, bemoans the state of his home country.

"The situation is not good. People are dying of cholera. My family is lucky to be alive," says Bukutu.

Months of saving will make Christmas a little more bearable for his family because of the basic foods he has bought, he says.

"This Christmas will be better because I came here," says Bukutu.

The father of two will return home with mealie meal, rice, cooking oil, soap, medicines and clothes for his children and extended family. For R750 Bukutu has secured a seat and space for his items on one of the "cross-border" buses.

The festive season has been busy for Snako Chikonye, who transports goods between Zimbabwe and Johannesburg.

"I usually do single trip a week, now I do two or three," says Chikonye.