According to a letter addressed to the Officers-In-Charge of different prisons in the country, citizens with local identity cards are also referred to as foreigners and are not allowed to visit prison premises without seeking prior clearance from the Immigration Department.
Please be advised that with effect from 01/01/11 no foreign national on an immigration warrant shall receive visitors who would not have obtained prior clearance from the department of Immigration, reads part of the letter displayed at Harare Remand prison.
The letter states that those with national identity cards with an A symbol are aliens and therefore are categorized as foreign nationals despite having Zimbabwean citizenship while those with ID cards marked C will have automatic entry to see their relatives even if they are foreign nationals.
The letter goes on to state that the stamped and signed letters shall be obtained from Officer in Charge of the Immigration department.
Zimbabwe has had problems defining who is Zimbabwean and who is not under the Mugabe regime in an attempt to force the white community to denounce their citizenship.
Post published in: News