By Vusumuzi Sifile
THOUSANDS of Zimbabweans with non-indigenous origins could be barred from voting on 29 March, even if they have known only Zimbabwe as their home and their names appear on the voters’ roll, The Standard has learnt.
This could affect thousands of farm workers and urban voters.
The likelihood of disenfranchisement emerged in a letter to the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission from Zimbabwe Lawyers for Human Rights (ZLHR) litigation lawyer, Rangu Nyamurundira.
He wrote that some "aliens" whose names appear on the voters’ roll had already been told they would not be allowed to vote.
According to the letter, MacDonald Lewanika, a Zimbabwean with Zambian ancestry, was barred from inspecting the voters’ roll on 14 February because he was considered an alien.
His brother, Gregory Irvin, was also barred from registering to vote for the same reason.
Lewanika, a civic activist, took up the issue with ZLHR, who in turn called Zimbabwe Electoral Commission (ZEC) for clarification. They insisted that Lewanika be allowed to inspect the voters’ roll as he had the right to do so under Section 21 of the Electoral Act.
On checking the roll, Lewanika established he was indeed registered to vote in Mufakose constituency. But one of the officials at the inspection centre told him that, even with his name on the voters’ roll, he would still not be able to vote because he was an alien.
"Despite him being registered as a voter under Mufakose Constituency and in fact having voted in all elections since 2000 Parliamentary elections Mr MacDonald (Lewanika) was told that he would not be allowed to vote . . . because he was an alien, and despite the fact that he was registered to vote," ZLHR’s Nyamurundira wrote to ZEC.
With three weeks to go before the elections, ZLHR and other civic organisations fear more people could find themselves in Lewanika’s predicament — registered to vote but unable to vote.
"Many Zimbabweans in fact find themselves in our clients’ position and have been denied their democratic right to vote. Those already registered to vote stand to be denied casting their vote come 29 March 2008," said Nyamurundira.
Attempts to contact ZEC chairperson, Justice George Chiweshe, were fruitless as he was said to be out of town. ZEC deputy chief elections officer (operations) Utloile Silaigwana said he had not seen the letter from ZLHR.
After amendments to the Citizenship of Zimbabwe Act in 2001, there has been confusion over the status of Zimbabweans registered as "aliens".
Section 9 of the Act prohibits dual citizenship, and requires Zimbabweans with dual citizenship to renounce foreign citizenship they would have "acquired".
In its letter to ZEC, ZLHR argued that most aliens never "acquired" foreign citizenship in the first place.
In the Government Gazette of 22 November 2002, Justice Minister Patrick Chinamasa said a mere potential claim to foreign citizenship, as opposed to actual possession, would not result in loss of citizenship. Nevertheless thousands of citizens were instructed by the Registrar-General’s office to renounce foreign citizenships they never had.
Last week ZLHR, in collaboration with the Zimbabwe Congress of Trade Unions) and the General Agriculture and Plantation Workers’ Union of Zimbabwe (GAPWUZ) held a workshop to sensitise many possible casualties of the current "misinterpretation of the Citizenship Act".
GAPWUZ represents workers at all farms and plantations in the country, most of whose workers are descendants of Malawians, Zambians and Mozambicans.
A GAPWUZ official said so far the union had identified more than 100 people in Mashonaland Central with such a status. The union was currently compiling a list of all those affected and once the list was completed, would mount a legal challenge.
At the Nomination Court on 15 February, Eddie Cross of the MDC was initially barred from filling his papers because there was a misunderstanding on his citizenship status, it being suggested he was British.
Cross argued he was a Zimbabwean, and was eventually allowed to file his papers in Bulawayo.
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