In a blink of an eye, Vincent Bwoni from Zimbabwe lost everything he worked three years to build.

On Tuesday afternoon, Bwoni stood in the DH William Hall in Katlehong where hundreds of displaced people from Mozambique and Zimbabwe were being sheltered.

Blankets, bags with clothes, and bicycles lined the walls.

The immigrants had just finished their lunch of pap, beef stew and cabbage in polystyrene containers.

Some listen to music and play cards while others sit in groups on plastic chairs.

At the back of the hall a father is giving flu medicine to his baby.

The mood in the hall is sombre. Those who once slept in comfortable beds with warm bedding now have to find a spot on the floor.

Ntladi said arrangements were made with authorities for some Mozambicans to return home on Tuesday evening.

Transport would be discussed with the relevant embassies

Those who also wanted to return to their homes in Gauteng to fetch their documents would be taken there with a police escort.

Ntladi described the mood at the hall as “very emotional”.

“You will find a five-year-old boy asking his daddy why they were here and why he is not going to school or where his toys were. One has to share the tears, because it is not an easy thing that has happened to this community.”