MAWERE DENIED ZIM ID

REGISTRAR General Tobaiwa Mudede last week blocked South Africa-based businessman Mutumwa Mawere’s application for a new national identity card, telling him that dual citizenship remains illegal even under the new Constitution. Mawere, who is said to be involved with a new political party but denies the reports, holds South African citizenship. He plans to challenge Mudede's decision at the courts as soon as the country's new Constitution becomes law. The new charter was recently approved by the legislature and now awaits President Robert Mugabe’s assent. Mawere told the RG in a letter on Monday: “You will appreciate that I also want to participate in the forthcoming general elections that will be held in terms of the new Constitution that clearly confers on persons like me the right to citizenship and consequently the right to participate in the elections as a voter."

The former SMM Holdings owner said he was surprised when told Mudede wanted to see him as he was processing his application for a new national identity card at the RG’s Harare offices last Friday. “I was surprised when she informed me that you wanted to see me before the application could be processed,” Mawere said in his letter to Mudede. “At the meeting with you that was also attended by a Mrs Chirove, you informed me that I was not eligible for Zimbabwean ID document as I was no longer a citizen of the country based solely on the fact that I had voluntarily acquired the citizenship of a foreign state. “You (insisted) that dual citizenship is not permissible and the new Constitution will not change this. On this basis, you then denied me the right to obtain the ID that I had applied for in the ordinary course of business. “You suggested that I first needed to renounce South African citizenship prior to applying for Zimbabwean citizenship. You also pointed out that even Zimbabwean born person will be subjected to residency requirements prior to citizenship being restored.”

Ulterior motives

He said the RG's involvement in the case hinted at an “ulterior motive” adding he was also surprised by Mudede's suggestion that he could seek further clarification from Justice Minister Patrick Chinamasa. “Your involvement in my matter suggests an ulterior motive. I should like to believe that other persons that were born in Zimbabwe of Zimbabwean heritage are not subjected to the same redlining treatment,” he said. “Such treatment of targeting certain persons because of their profile is not only discriminatory but is contrary to the provisions of both the old and new constitution. You indicated that should I require clarifications, I should direct all my questions to (the) Minister of Justice and Legal Affairs (Patrick Chinamasa). “I asked you why it was necessary to direct such queries to Chinamasa when the questions at hand were outside the scope of his mandate. You could not provide any logical answer other than exposing the fact that my issue had been a subject of discussion with (the Minister).

Mawere has had numerous run-ins with Chinamasa over the seizure by the government of his businesses in the country. The businessman is still fighting to reclaim the Zvishavane-based asbestos miner SMM Holdings which was taken over by government because the group was heavily indebted to various State entities which Mawere disputes. He said Mudede’s suggestion that he should first renounce his South African citizenship was impracticable. “Renunciation of (South African) citizenship is not permissible unless the person concerned has another citizenship lest the person is rendered stateless which is not allowable in terms of the country’s constitution,” he said.

Court challenge

“I, therefore, pointed out to you the absurdity of your construction that I needed to renounce South African citizenship prior to my right to citizenship by birth being considered by your office.” Mawere insisted that under the new Constitution “a person born in Zimbabwe of two Zimbabwean parents is automatically entitled to Zimbabwean citizenship”. “The fact that such a person may be a holder of a foreign citizenship is irrelevant otherwise exception would have been provided in the new Constitution,” he said. “To allow me to approach the court as soon as the new Constitution is signed into law, I would be grateful if you could kindly give me a letter confirming that the provisions of the new Constitution in terms of Sections 36 and 43(2) cannot be enforced on account of the operation of the Zimbabwe Citizenship Act.”

Dual citizenship proved to be one of the major sticking points in negotiations between Zanu PF and the MDC parties over the country’s new Constitution. Said lawyer and political advisor to the Prime Minister , Alex Magaisa in a recent interview with SW Radio Africa: “This (dual citizenship) was one of the very contentious issues from the very beginning because there was controversy as to whether dual citizenship should be allowed. “There were a number of clauses that came up but I think that in the end it was felt that it was not necessary to put in clauses relating specifically to dual citizenship in the constitution except for citizens by registration. “So what this means essentially is that every person who is born in Zimbabwe is a citizen by birth and a person who is born outside Zimbabwe to a citizen by birth is a citizen by descent … which effectively does away with the debate over dual citizenship.”