The ZIMBABWE Situation | Our
thoughts and prayers are with Zimbabwe - may peace, truth and justice prevail. |
March
03, 2002
Dear
All
Please
note that pressure of work makes it very difficult to respond to enquiries
timeously and individually for now. It would help greatly if you circulate these
updates far and wide and encourage others to join this mailing list sooner
rather than later.
Given the
recent judgement handed down in the High Court by Judge Adams, do I still have
to go to court?
Judge Adams recently
handed down a judgement in the Tsvangirai
v Registrar-General
case, which extends the deadline for dual nationals to complete
renunciation of foreign citizenship from Jan 06 to Aug 06, 2002. People who had
not successfully completed this procedure by Jan 06 are subsequently eligible to
vote in the forthcoming elections. The govt is highly likely to challenge this
verdict before the election so take nothing for granted.
Despite
the above you are still required to turn up for your court hearing and follow
this process through.
Remember
that as long as your appeal against the R-G's notice of objection is unresolved,
your name must remain on the voters' roll.
Alteration
required on ZLHR forms as a result of Judge President Chidyausiku's
ruling
Judge
President Chidyausiku this last week ruled in the Supreme Court that a common
roll will not be used in the forthcoming election. All voters will have to vote
from within the constituencies in which they are registered. His reasons for
this judgement have not yet been made available. Consequently it would seem
relevant to remove point 1. under "Questions for Determination" of the Appeal
Forms supplied by Zimbabwe Lawyers for Human Rights (ZLHR).
Feedback for
ZLHR
ZLHR
need your feedback. Please advise them of the results of your court hearing
timeously so that they can keep abreast of how things are progressing.
Information from those of you who have had objections "withdrawn" by the state
are especially asked to get in touch.
Email:
zlhr@icon.co.zw giving name, case number,
public prosecutor, magistrate and other relevant info.
Masvingo
Please
contact Graeme Nish at Winterton, Holmes and Hill for assistance with
magistrate's court hearings. His email is gnish@cheerful.com
Public
Prosecutors and Magistrates
Please
consider how inapproriate it is to vent your anger on these government
employees. They are not responsible for the Registrar-General's current exercise
in disenfranchisement. In many cases they have worked hard to guide appellants
through the court process with courtesy and consideration.
Latest
advice from Zimbabwe Lawyers for Human Rights
Information
on citizenship and voting queries
In
response to the many enquiries we have received about citizenship and voting
issues, and having observed the confusion which has arisen at the magistrates
courts around the country as a result of the short notice of hearings, etc., we
offer the following opinions. Please note, however, that as the law is changing
daily – with case decisions, appeals and new regulations coming out – this is
the best information we can give you at this time.
This
is general information and is not intended to be regarded as "legal advice". It
is important that you consult a lawyer, as each individual’s circumstances are
different.
If
you have not been resident in Zimbabwe since 31 December 1985 and you renounced
your Zimbabwe citizenship
>>> you have no right to vote in the
presidential election.
If
you were a permanent resident before 31 December 1985, and did not take out
Zimbabwe citizenship
>>> you are entitled to vote and your name
should be on the voters’ roll. If you are called to court, you should provide
evidence to the magistrate so that your case can be withdrawn. If your name has
been removed from the voters roll, you can make an urgent application to the
High Court to ensure that you are put back onto the roll. You will need a
lawyer.
If
you properly renounced your foreign citizenship and have subsequently been
issued with a Zimbabwe passport before the recent Citizenship Amendment Act
2001, and have been called to court
>>> you should explain this to
the prosecutor, and provided you produce adequate evidence, they may withdraw
your case. If the prosecutor does not withdraw the case or the magistrate
requests further evidence, we suggest that you advise the magistrate that since
the Constituency Registrar has produced no evidence in your case, you wish to
call the Registrar General to give evidence on your status as a properly
confirmed Zimbabwe citizen who has legally renounced any foreign
citizenship.
If
you had Zimbabwe citizenship and did not renounce this or give up your foreign
citizenship during the last few months (ie ‘did nothing’)
>>> you
risk becoming stateless. One recent High Court judgement in the case of Tsvangirai v Registrar-General decided
that the period for renunciation should be extended by a further 6 months.
However, the state has appealed against this decision and it is possible that
the Supreme Court may overturn this judgement. Therefore, if you do not have
rights to a foreign passport, you are likely to have your Zimbabwe passport
confiscated/cancelled and you will be stateless. You will need to consult a
lawyer. If you illegally maintained dual citizenship, you will lose your
Zimbabwe citizenship and may be prosecuted.
If
you received a "notice of objection" from your Constituency
Registrar:-
·
and you did
not successfully note your appeal in the stipulated time, and you have a valid
reason for not doing so (eg you were out of the country, you were in hospital,
the registered slip was sent to the wrong address, or the Constituency
Registar’s office refused to accept your notice even if you were in time)
>>> you can make an urgent application to the High Court for a
review. You will need a lawyer.
·
and you were
successful in noting your appeal within the stipulated time (eg in person, or by
way of registered mail and you have the post office slip to prove this) you
should have been notified of your court hearing by personal delivery. If you
have not received a "notice of hearing" you can go to your Constituency
Registrar to enquire when your matter is to be heard. If you are not given a
satisfactory response, you can make an urgent application to the High Court. You
will need a lawyer.
If
you were successful in noting your appeal and receive a "notice of hearing"
please prepare yourself by accessing the information which we have already
circulated on the email and internet. Subscribe to the Citizenship Lobby Group
updates by emailing bnb@zol.co.zw or
downloading the information from the website www.kubatana.net. If you do not have email or
internet, you need to find a friend who will do this for you.
ZLHR
has prepared draft statements for you to use in court. Read all the information
carefully. You will need to change the wording to suit your personal
circumstances, remember to sign the statement and submit it to the court. If you
are asking for a referral to the High Court, you must inform the magistrate of
this immediately your case is called and offer your written statement to the
court. (If you are called to the Harare magistrates court, there are volunteers
available who can give you the forms.) We stress that these forms have been
prepared for persons who have been resident since 31 December 1985 and who
renounced their Zimbabwe citizenship. If you did not do this, eg never took out
citizenship, you should take your permanent residence certificate to the court
and advise the prosecutor/magistrate of your status as a permanent resident
before 31 December 1985.
We
stress that you need to read the information and draft statements carefully and
change any ‘facts’ so that they apply to you. If in doubt, consult a
lawyer.
If
you receive a notice of hearing and cannot appear in person, you can appoint
someone else to attend for you. You will need to complete a written statement of
your facts (see above) and sign a formal letter of appointment for your agent.
You can use the following wording:
I
hereby appoint ………. to act on my behalf in the matter between …(your name) .. vs
the Constituency Registrar for … Constituency. Case No …..(from your notice of
hearing)….at the …………..magistates court.
Signed:
Dated:
If
you were called to court and missed your hearing, you can check with the
prosecutor of the court to which you were called to find out what has happened
to your case. If your case was dismissed, you will be struck off the voters
roll. You can make an urgent application to the High Court to set aside the
magistrates decision. You will need a lawyer.
If
you were called to court and could not be present for your hearing and you
advised the court in advance, you can consult a lawyer to have your case
heard.
If
you have already appeared in court and you lost your case, you can appeal
against the magistrate’s decision. Get the information on appeal procedure from
the email/internet. You have 7 days in which to note your
appeal.
If
you have already appeared in court and had your case referred to the High Court,
you should contact ZLHR for additional ‘heads of argument’ to be filed in your
case. Please urgently send a report to the fax or email address below, giving
your case number, name, contact details etc, if you have not already provided us
with all this information.
Please
assist us to track all these legal issues concerning citizenship and voting by
submitting to us the details of your case. If you send us this written
information, we can track the decisions being made at these hearings and try to
provide further information and possibly assistance by way of class
actions.
Please
send us a written report stating briefly the relevant information (eg name, case
number, contact phone and date of hearing and outcome or other details) and send
this to us by fax on Harare 251468, or by mail to P O Box CY 1393 Causeway. If
you have email, please submit this information to zlhr@icon.co.zw.
We
cannot take down this information over the phone, and also cannot provide you
with any information if you do not give us details of the nature of your
enquiry, since we are prioritising our very limited manpower to assist persons
who have been called to court at short notice.
Internet
This
info is available on the internet at:
http://www.kubatana.net/html/archive/arch_index.asp?sector=ELEC
Best
wishes
Brenda
Burrell