Foreigner rots in remand prison after Mozambique refuses him, Zim doesn`t know where to deport him to

Source: by Mashonaland East Correspondent – New Zimababwe, 02/10/2015

A FOREIGN national married to a Zimbabwean woman has languished in
remand prison for over eight months as he is failing to produce valid
documents to prove his nationality to enable the government to deport
him to that country.
Gilberto Elias Fumo Zucula, who was arrested last February filed an
urgent High Court application against the minister of home affairs,
the department of immigration director and the officer in charge at
Harare Remand Prison challenging his continued detention in remand
prison and seeking his immediate release.
In an application heard before Justice Esther Muremba, Zucula said he
was not facing any criminal charges and had not been brought before
any court of law to face any charges.
Zucula who is married to a Zimbabwean woman, Cynthia Ndlovu, was
arrested on 28 February in Harare after he failed to produce a
passport or permit which authorised his stay in the country.
In their response to Zucula's claims, the minister of home affairs and
the director of immigration said they had exercised their discretion
in choosing not to charge Zucula with a criminal offence for staying
illegally in Zimbabwe and that he was detained only for purposes of
deporting him to his country.
Two days after his arrest, Ndlovu brought Zucula's birth certificate
and driver's licence to the immigration department. Through the
ministry of foreign affairs, the documents were sent to the Mozambican
embassy in Harare for verification.
However, in its response, the embassy said although the documents
produced were original, the oral interview they carried out with
Zucula had established that he was not a Mozambican citizen putting
his nationality in serious doubt.
During another interview with the immigration officials after his
arrest, Zucula had indicated that he had entered Zimbabwe in January
this year through the Forbes Border Post but verifications made at the
border post and at Nyamapanda and Machipanda showed no records of
entry by him.
Zucula also later produced a police report showing that he had lost
his passport but the police report was dismissed by the judge as it
was made to the cops by his wife some days after his arrest.
Justice Muremba dismissed his appeal to be allowed to be released from
remand prison saying it was unreasonable and inappropriate as he was a
prohibited person.

"By virtue of being a prohibited person, the applicant has no right to
ask to be released from detention and be allowed to remain on
Zimbabwean soil," ruled the judge.
"To release such a person would not only be unreasonable and
inappropriate, but also illogical.
"It is illogical because it is tantamount to authorising the
prohibited person to remain in Zimbabwe in the absence of valid
documents authorising their stay."
The judge said since Mozambique had revealed that Zucula was not its
national and he therefore he had no country to be deported to.
"Mozambique cannot be forced to accept a person whom it has said is
not its national," she said.
"The home affairs minister and the director of immigration argued that
once the applicant brings valid information about his nationality he
will be deported to his country.
"Accordingly, the application for the applicant's release is dismissed
with costs.