Mugabe threatens statelessness

an five continuous years will become stateless.
Cordinator for the Zimbabwe Diaspora CSO Forum, Norah Tapiwa, expressed concern over this during the recent Save Zimbabwe Campaign and urged organisations such as the National Constitutional Assembly to work flat out in ensuring that exiled Zimbabweans retain their citizenship.
Political rights activists Joshua Rusere and Oliver Kubikwa said the threat was another of Mugabe’s desperate attempts to keep Zimbabweans at home, as the continued exodus was causing international condemnation.
Since 2000, the Zimbabwe’s Registrar-general’s office headed by Tobaiwa Mudede, Mugabe’s close friend has refused citizenship to thousands of people born in Zimbabwe but with foreign parentage. Most of the affected people are of Malawian and Mozambican descendent.
Critics say the move to deny them citizenship is because they are viewed as MDC sympathizers.
Meanwhile, Zimbabwean consulate officials in Johannesburg are accused of denying Zimbabweans and their children born in South Africa national identity documents and birth certificates.
Over 100 000 children under the age of 18 are believed to be living in South Africa with a big margin failing to go to school as they cannot acquire proper documentation. One refugee school, Izenzo Kunge Mazwi, has tried to address this challenge but faces closure due to financial problems.
Chris Mapanga, spokesperson of the Zimbabwean Consulate in Johannesburg said nothing like losing citizenship to a Zimbabwean out of the country could happen. “A Zimbabwean will remain a Zimbabwean,” he said.
He denied that the consulate had refused to issue birth certificates and IDs.
“There are no birth certificates issued in a consulate wherever in the world. We refer people to were they will be assisted,” said Mapanga.