Lake Kariba is one of the largest man-made lakes, built by the colonial government in 1959, on the Zambezi River.
Source: WATCH: New Zimbabwe border post | eNCA
The marginalised Tonga people of western Zimbabwe are – for the first time – crossing Lake Kariba to visit relatives in Zambia. Courtesy #DStv403
BINGA DISTRICT, Zimbabwe – The marginalised Tonga people of western Zimbabwe are – for the first time – crossing Lake Kariba to visit relatives in Zambia, that’s 40-years after independence.
Lake Kariba is one of the largest man-made lakes, built by the colonial government in 1959, on the Zambezi River.
A small number of Tonga people settled on the Zimbabwe side of Kariba, while the majority remained in Zambia.
They now number around 140,000 in Zimbabwe, and over a million across the border.
The Tonga live in Binga district, which has been marginalised since Zimbabwe’s independence in 1980.
They have few schools and clinics, and poor roads and they had to travel 600km, via the Victoria Falls border post, visit relatives just across the border.
So the opening of a new border post brought jubilation.
eNCA correspondent Pindai Dube visited the Binga district and shares more details in the video above.
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