via RadioVop Zimbabwe – Mudede Humbled In Passport Battle May 16, 2014
Two Bulawayo residents are relieved after an intervention by the country’s leading human rights defence group, the Zimbabwe Lawyers for Human Rights (ZLHR) compelled the country’s Registrar-General to issue them with passports.
The two Bulawayo residents Edna and Margaret Silundu, who are sisters, had struggled to obtain the travel documents as they were considered to be “aliens” by Registrar-General Tobaiwa Mudede’s office.
Edna and Margaret were born in Zimbabwe in the 60’s to a Zimbabwean mother and a Zambian father, who had migrated to the southern African country when it was still known as Southern Rhodesia. Having been issued with Zimbabwean identity cards and regarding Zimbabwe as their home, the two were surprised when Mudede’s office refused to issue them with passports due to the country’s complicated citizenship laws that were rendering some people “stateless”.
But the intervention by ZLHR lawyer Nosimilo Chanayiwa and Lizwe Jamela, who wrote a series of letters to Mudede’s office and threatened to institute legal proceedings has yielded some results as they explained that the Registrar-General’s office was misinterpreting the legal provisions governing citizenship issues as Section 35 (3) (b) entitles all Zimbabwean citizens to passports and other travel documents.
The engagement of Mudede’s officers finally paid off recently resulting in the issuing of the passports to the two sisters.
In a statement, ZLHR said it was “elated” that Ednah and Margaret had finally secured travel documents which would allow them to exercise their right to freedom of movement.
Apart from Edinah and Margaret, several Zimbabweans among them labour unionist Raymond Majongwe and Canadian based Sebastian Piroro have struggled to obtain passports after Mudede’s office refused to issue and renew their travel documents which had expired.
The two had to resort to legal action to compel Mudede’s office to issue them with passports.
COMMENTS
INI NDAKA SURRENDER WITH THAT OFFICE, I’M WAITING FOR THE NEW REGISTRAR TO BE APPOINTED.
Ko zvino tinochemereyi kana SA Home Office irikurambawo kurenyuwa mapermits emazimbo..ko ndiwo hu alien hwacho ka..
Nonsense Shumba!
The Registrar Generals office is a bastion of repression.
The zanus should fix the economy not the people. What about mnagangwa who is said that be Zambian and Bob who is believed to be from Mozambique or Malawi…
..who is said to be Zambian….
and Mudede will continue to refuse passports to the next people in the same position until they institute legal proceedings against him..costing the tax payer money. These two are not the first and will not be the last.
Is Biti Malawian by descent?
mudede and rita macaroon are traitors of the people.
There must be alot of payments under the counter being demanded by people who work in this office
Are we going to wait until this Mud-dead or Mud-dede dies?
with regard to these two people in question have a hunch this office wanted a backhand – it is happening all the time and everyone is turning a blind eye to it
PAssPort for what,go prey heaven is. For free,