Staff Reporter
A STORM is brewing between ZANU-PF and the Movement for Democratic Change (MDC-T) over the issue of dual citizenship as the constitution-making exercise enters a defining stage.
If ZANU-PF’s bid to outlaw dual citizenship carries the day, it will hit the hardest locals domiciled outside Zimbabwe’s borders who were forced to leave at the height of the country’s economic and political upheavals.Constitution Parliamentary Select Committee (COPAC) co-chairperson, Douglas Mwonzora, who is also the MDC-T spokesperson, confirmed differences over the matter.
“There is no convergence, no agreement on that issue. The MDC’s position is that citizenship ought to be by registration and by descent. Dual citizenship ought to be allowed”, said Mwonzora.
Paul Mangwana, another COPAC co-chairperson, said during the outreach process, the majority of Zimbabweans said no to dual citizenship, and that is the position that should be adopted.
“Seven out of the country’s 10 provinces said they want mono-citizenship. When you see me having problems with people, they would be talking about issues that did not come from the people”, said Mangwana.
Last week, the Zimbabwe Lawyers for Human Rights, said it remains greatly concerned about shortcomings in the constitutional-making process and the continued failure to embrace minimum measures that would allow the exercise to have popular ownership and confidence.
According to the Citizenship Rights in Africa Initiative (CRAI); which is dedicated to ending statelessness and the arbitrary denial of citizenship in Africa, Zimbabwe is one of the countries on the continent said to be practicing denationalisation, which campaigners described as was a severe human rights abuse, entrenched because of political party interests.
“Although the African Charter prohibits discrimination based on distinctions ‘such as race, ethnic group, colour, sex, language, religion, political or any other opinion, national and social origin, fortune, birth or other status’, governments regularly ignore this policy and discriminate groups based on many of these attributes”, said CRAI.
CRAI is currently lobbying African governments to adopt a treaty to establish principles and rules to eliminate arbitrariness and discrimination in the proof, acquisition, enjoyment, and loss of citizenship on the continent.
“Denationalisation can be executed for many reasons – groups can be denied legal nationality due to their ethnicity, citizenship can be taken away due to party affiliation, and individuals can be rendered stateless for any perceived threat against the state”, observed CRAI.
Comments (17)
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written by Chamu, February 02, 2012
written by Chamu, February 02, 2012
This is absolute trash. You think Zimbos are naive and stupid? The majority of Zimbabweans in the diaspora are now citizens of their host countries and hold both Zimbabwean and their adopted countries' pa*sports. They use their adopted countries' pa*sports when travelling across the globe and produce their Zimbabwean pasports when they land at HRE Airport. Whether 7 out of 10 provinces say no to dual citizenship is a no brainer; as this won't change anything. A number of ZANU PF ministers and government officials' children who live in the diaspora have also adopted foreign citizenship and hold 2 pa*sports. So, Mr Mangwana, Mr Mudede & Co; what is all this fuss about? Wake up and smell the coffee and welcome to the 21st century.
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written by Nathaniel Masikati, February 02, 2012
written by Nathaniel Masikati, February 02, 2012
Just wondering what reasons the Zims in the 10 provinces said no to dual citizenship. I even wonder if these people know and understand what dual citizenship is.
I do not see anything wrong with dual citizenship. Right now, thousands of Zim use foreign pa*sports when traveling to other parts of the world, only to show up Zim pa*sports at our borders.
I do not see anything wrong with dual citizenship. Right now, thousands of Zim use foreign pa*sports when traveling to other parts of the world, only to show up Zim pa*sports at our borders.
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written by Adebayo, February 01, 2012
written by Adebayo, February 01, 2012
7 out of 10 provinces said NO to dual citizenship. Oh really! What do these people know about dual citizenship when they have never travelled beyond Zimbabwe's borders? Are they aware of the denationalisation project that ZANU PF, led by Tobaiwa Mudede, has been vigorously pursuing over the past decade. Mudede and his paymaster, has stripped millions of citizens born and raised in Zimbabwe; of their citizenship just because one of their parents was born in either Malawi, Zambia, Mozambique or South Africa. He is hiding behind this stupid dual citizenship law. I wouldn't be surprised if he is the one giving advice to Mangwana and ZANU PF so that he continues dehumanising these fine citizens. These people are denied essential travel doc*ments as well as IDs and remain trapped in their own country. Does one choose his/her parents when he/she is born? What's wrong with having a parent born outside Zimbabwe? This is just a desperate attempt by ZANU PF to hold onto power at all costs as these people are 'deemed unpatriotic' hence they are perceived to be sympathetic to the opposition. Look at progressive countries like the USA, Canada, Britain, etc. Barack Obama's father was born in Kenya but he is the president of the United States; Mitt Romney's father was born in Mexico and he is currently running on a Republican ticket for president of the United States, Senator John McCain was born in Panama and he ran for president of the United States in 2008, Jullia Gillard, the currentAustralian PM was born In Wales and she is the Prime Minister of Australia. These are just few examples of countries where citizens are not rendered stateless and demonised because of their parents' national origin. Only ZANU PF continues to discriminate against a section of its own citizens and its a shame Tobaiwa Mudede and his pals at Makombe have allowed themselves to be used as a front for this stupid and sinister ZANU PF project. Even some people within the upper echelons of ZANU PF are vehemently opposed to what the RG is doing and are in favour of dual citizenship.
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written by dodzo, January 31, 2012
written by dodzo, January 31, 2012
I think you respondents are somehow naive. ask why? The issue of mono citizenship does not mean that if you go to USA and get a 5 year contract to work and stay there you lose your Zimbabwwean citizenship. It does not mean that if you are on asylum status in uk you lose your citizenship. You only lose you Zimbabwean citizenship if you decide to become a British citizen by registration in which case:
- you adopt a British pa*sport.
-adopt a British ID card.
In this case you are no longer a Zimbabwean but a Briton and thus you renounce your Zimbabwean citizenship and surrender your Zimbabwean pa*sport and ID card. My surprise is that the majority who are crying for dual citizenship have not even applied for such status in UK or USA or RSA. In fact you are instead fighting for the racist Rhodesians who left the country in the 1980s and 90s for Britain with the view to come back to Zimbabwe using dual citizenship. You are being used to campaign for white objectives and visions. Dual citizenship is really bad because it allows criminals to find refuge in other countries and also it compromises the security of the nation. For instance how on earth can a man claim ownership of a child with two birth certificates enscribed with two different fathers. So the issue here mono citizenship is the best. For those in the Diaspora who have not taken UK pa*sports and IDs don't worry, you are still Zimbabweans till death. For those who want UK red pa*sports and IDs its ok do so ndokunge mwana waMisisi abvuma. Kana abvuma no proble become a Briton renounce the ZIM citizenship. When you want to become a Zimbabwean again re-apply and cancel the red pa*sport. Be advised.
- you adopt a British pa*sport.
-adopt a British ID card.
In this case you are no longer a Zimbabwean but a Briton and thus you renounce your Zimbabwean citizenship and surrender your Zimbabwean pa*sport and ID card. My surprise is that the majority who are crying for dual citizenship have not even applied for such status in UK or USA or RSA. In fact you are instead fighting for the racist Rhodesians who left the country in the 1980s and 90s for Britain with the view to come back to Zimbabwe using dual citizenship. You are being used to campaign for white objectives and visions. Dual citizenship is really bad because it allows criminals to find refuge in other countries and also it compromises the security of the nation. For instance how on earth can a man claim ownership of a child with two birth certificates enscribed with two different fathers. So the issue here mono citizenship is the best. For those in the Diaspora who have not taken UK pa*sports and IDs don't worry, you are still Zimbabweans till death. For those who want UK red pa*sports and IDs its ok do so ndokunge mwana waMisisi abvuma. Kana abvuma no proble become a Briton renounce the ZIM citizenship. When you want to become a Zimbabwean again re-apply and cancel the red pa*sport. Be advised.
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written by Remnant, January 30, 2012
written by Remnant, January 30, 2012
The issue of dual citizenship was decided by the people of Zimbabwe who openly partic**ated during the outreach program. It was an open process for every Zimbabwean citizen to partic**ate and the marjority views will carry the day. Its about what the marjority of Zimbabweans want and the outcome is part of the democratic process of coming up with a people driven constitution, hence, what people said should be respected. If you can't stomach the marjority views then its unfortunate you were born in a country where your views are in the minority and if you find it hard to accept the outcomes of the outreach program then you are better off elsewhere and its within your right as an individual to do so.
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written by This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it , January 30, 2012
written by This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it , January 30, 2012
In my view, the dual citzenship thing was meant to marginalise the so many Zimbabweans of foreign origin like Malaweans, Mozambiquens and Zambians along with whiltes of South African, British or American origins. During the controversal land grab error the majority of people working on farms were of these African origins and given an opportunity to vote that time or in future, they would definately, for obvious reasons tip the odds against Zanu PF. The only way prevent this was to ask them to stand clear as Zimbabweans or otherwise. Tracing back their parentage and providing the relevant doc*mentation to support this was and still is a dounting task to those who choose to be Zimbawean citzens. Some think tank in Zanu PF saw that most of those who held "alien"I.Ds were mainly in urban areas and commercial farms. As a matter of fact, the urban vote has always been a problem for Zanu PF, so a way had to be found to cut off these "unpatriotic" voters. Meanwhile Zimbabwean were leaving for diaspora in thousands, some even got citzenships in the countries they went to, not that they had turned back on Zimbabwe but because they also wanted to enjoy the previllege offered by their host countries. Given an opportunity a lot of Zimbabweans in diaspora would want to come back home and invest the wealth ( knowledge, money...etc) they have ama*sed out there. They would also want a say in the goings-on of the country and one way of doing this is being able to vote. When Zimbabwe finally gets it right, we will need all this investment from vanavevhu , infact we desperately need it now than later. Zanu PF... you need to rethink this one. It's not about an election, it is about the country, its people and their future. May someone out there enlighten me on the disadvantages of dual citzenship?
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written by Godfrey Gundani, January 29, 2012
written by Godfrey Gundani, January 29, 2012
To be frank, there is nothing wrong with dual citizenship. Can all who oppose this tell us its bad side please. As a people we stand to win wth dual citizenship. Remember what we are crafting here and now will be forever with us when these ZANU idiots are gone. Long live Zimbabwe.
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written by Bruno, January 29, 2012
written by Bruno, January 29, 2012
General you talk emotively and Bruno must have touched a raw nerve. There is no reason why a diasporan can not keep their Zimbabwean citizenship. When the tables were possibly in your favour, the likes of you went around brandishing other Zimbabweans as pro-Mugabe coz they did not advocate being affiliated to MDC-T and we know what follwed? Name them shame them and school children were deported to Zimbabwe for just that. Citizenship has nothing to do with party affiliation but party affiliation is what some of you thought will buy you your ticket to your future. Every time you shall travel to Zim on a foreign pa*sport records shall be kept and there will be the time to reckon. Warped minds are abundant and they come in droves of all kinds including yours. Isa fodya kumagaro kana wavaviwa ende usahuwanza zvikuru uchimwa wakazvipfigira mukamba kanotonhora.
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written by R.T. Murehwa, January 29, 2012
written by R.T. Murehwa, January 29, 2012
ZanuPF, please tell us what the down-side is to dual citizenship? People such as us in the diaspora will come willingly to work for Zimbabwe if I know that by doing so, I will not burn my bridges here by having to renounce the citizenship of a country that has been so generous to me when Zimbabwe was not. Me thinks, if anyone opposes this dual citizenship thing, they are doing it just out of spite and vindictiveness. Many countries allow dual citizenship, and they are still standing: South Africa, Nigeria, US, UK, Canada... Or is ZanuPF afraid that diaspora people would be their worst nightmare at the polls?
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written by BasapoMoyo, January 28, 2012
written by BasapoMoyo, January 28, 2012
The fact is that if Zimbabwe wants to take advantage of the magnificience of its diaspora then we must accept possibility of dual nationality by those who were fortunate enough to earn it and who may have married into other nationalities and, dare I say, races, which if we are truthful with ourselves brother and sisters is the real issue here ... global village needs a global vision, lets be part of it ...
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written by Nathi, January 28, 2012
written by Nathi, January 28, 2012
Mugabe is not 100% Zimbabwean he is half Malawean and as such he does not qualify to be called Zimbabwean
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written by tonderayi, January 28, 2012
written by tonderayi, January 28, 2012
There is nothing wrong with dual citizenship every body I think knows that. The europeans used the same to colonise all other countries. Their citizens had their british citizenship and also citizenship for the other countries they went to live in and or work. That made it easier for those people to plough back to their originaly countries the fruits of their sweat. It is time for african countries to do the same so that we can easily re invest back what we lost over centuries of colonisation. The only problem now that I face and indeed all normal Zimbabweans is that, all people who left Zimbabwe have been made to appear like they belong to MDC and indeed most have their stupid thinking and even if they have nothing to do with MDC their host countries want them to behave like they are MDC members. It therefore explains why the MDC is crying for dual citizenship because they think all the votes of the diaspora will be theirs and they want to take advantage of that.
I propose that the only way to agree on this dual citizenship issue is that, yes we need dual citizenship but only effective after this coming election. For this coming election definitely the diaspora must be left out of the voting , even if the dual citizenship is adopted, if there is a way of agreeing on this then n*body will have a problem with that, guys think about that. Honestly all diasporas are not owned by the MDC they are individuals. Come on people the pink people destroyed our economy, now they send the MDC to return the country to their rule, yes Zimbabweans are entrepreneurs, you use any opportunity to the best as the europeans used the bible to oppress us, we use the political confussion they created to penetrate them and get back what we can. Its not as political as people think. The guys out here are just making money just like the pink farmers are making money in Zimbabwe, Zambia, Kenya, South Afrika and every where else, Wake up Zimbabweans
I propose that the only way to agree on this dual citizenship issue is that, yes we need dual citizenship but only effective after this coming election. For this coming election definitely the diaspora must be left out of the voting , even if the dual citizenship is adopted, if there is a way of agreeing on this then n*body will have a problem with that, guys think about that. Honestly all diasporas are not owned by the MDC they are individuals. Come on people the pink people destroyed our economy, now they send the MDC to return the country to their rule, yes Zimbabweans are entrepreneurs, you use any opportunity to the best as the europeans used the bible to oppress us, we use the political confussion they created to penetrate them and get back what we can. Its not as political as people think. The guys out here are just making money just like the pink farmers are making money in Zimbabwe, Zambia, Kenya, South Afrika and every where else, Wake up Zimbabweans
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written by General, January 28, 2012
written by General, January 28, 2012
Bruno - You are so backward my friend. People who went to the diasporra, as you put it are not all as stupid as you've been made to believe.
Like anything in life - where there is a genuine market, there will always be a parallel or so called black market. We saw this with currency @ the height of our issues. The same applies to Dual Citizenship baba ! There are ways & there are ways if you get me. It already exists.
It's quite ironic that you give a warped and myopic example of marriage supposedly being symbolic with loyalty. I say this to you, look @ all the guys who are shouting the loudest against DC and you will find that they are the same ones who have small houses scattered everywhere (parallel market). Don't get brainwashed by these guys baba. We live ne vana vavo in the Diasporra, they all have foreign pa*sports & are living large, leaving your ilk to shout on their behalf
Like anything in life - where there is a genuine market, there will always be a parallel or so called black market. We saw this with currency @ the height of our issues. The same applies to Dual Citizenship baba ! There are ways & there are ways if you get me. It already exists.
It's quite ironic that you give a warped and myopic example of marriage supposedly being symbolic with loyalty. I say this to you, look @ all the guys who are shouting the loudest against DC and you will find that they are the same ones who have small houses scattered everywhere (parallel market). Don't get brainwashed by these guys baba. We live ne vana vavo in the Diasporra, they all have foreign pa*sports & are living large, leaving your ilk to shout on their behalf
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written by Bruno, January 27, 2012
written by Bruno, January 27, 2012
Citizenship is not forced on anyone. Those that went to the diaspora chose to take up citizenship of those countries that offered it in the trust that is the countries of their choice for the future. Like a monogamous marriage one may not have two wives and vice versa. A single citizenship expects one to be patriotic, loyal, dedicated, in love, etc till death do us part. Respect what the generality of Zimbos want and stamp that into the constitution and stop bickering and wasting our money and time.
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written by Trym*re Chinyawu, January 27, 2012
written by Trym*re Chinyawu, January 27, 2012
you say 7 out of ten provinces in zim want single citizenship. My question to you is how would people who have never travelled outside of zim or do not have parents of another nationality know about dual citizenship. They do NOT qualify to provide an answer. The answer is to be provided by those who KNOW and are affected. eish...At the rate the constitution is going including the meddling by war vets we zimbabweans may all revert to being peasants of the highest order. retrogression. eish...
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Remember: Chidzero was outed as Malawian only after his death....Kuruneri had Canadian p/port.....what about Patrick Zhuwawo ...
What a farce........