Supreme Court judge Justice Nicholas Mathonsi has come hard
on registrar-general Clemence Masango, who has been denying returning
Zimbabweans citizenship status, saying the move by his office is discouraging
investment.
Justice Mathonsi made the remarks in a High Court judgement
in a matter in which a 66-year-old Kadoma farmer, Christina Janet Veitch, who
was born and bred in Zimbabwe while it was still Southern Rhodesia, had her
identity card forfeited by the Registrar-General’s office.
Veitch was ordered to prove her status and entitlement to
the country’s citizenship because at one point she left the country, but
returned in 1987.
Veitch has been living in Zimbabwe, but when she visited
the Registrar-General’s office in Kadoma in 2017, the officials refused to
confirm her citizenship, arguing she must prove her status and entitlement.
“It has not been suggested in this case that if indeed the
applicant was a Zimbabwean citizen at some point, such citizenship was ever
revoked for any reason,” Mathonsi noted.
“Neither had it been suggested that there would be any
cause for revocation.
“All that has happened in this case is that the respondent
(Masango) has been intransigent and without conducting any meaningful
investigation of the applicant’s status
“It is disappointing that the matter of such magnitude
involving the constitutional rights of a fairly elderly person has been allowed
to come this far without officialdom appearing to care.
“This has happened at a time when government is on record
for encouraging even foreigners to come and invest in Zimbabwe and has been
pleading with those of our people who are in the diaspora to return and work
for the development of the economy.
“Surely, there is need for introspection within the first
respondent’s offices if government’s efforts are to bear fruits.”
Mathonsi said the behaviour of the officials involved in
the case was questionable.
“If indeed the applicant is not entitled to citizenship or
is not a citizen, she must be told so and that conclusion can only be arrived
at after through investigation of the case,” he said.
“It is not enough for officials who are employed and paid
to handle citizenship issues to sit back and demand those that seek assistance
must do their work for them.” Standard
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