ZIMBABWEAN authorities have made a massive volte-face and abandoned the persecution of pro-democracy campaigner Namatai Kwekweza by coyly inviting her to report to the Registrar-General’s Office, where she will be issued with her new national identity card following an unwarranted refusal to replace her defaced national identity document.
Officials at the Civil Registry Department had on 30 October 2024 refused to replace Kwekweza’s national identity card after brazenly informing her that she was on a so-called Stop List, and hence is prohibited from possessing one.
The arbitrary refusal by the officials prompted the pro-democracy campaigner to engage her lawyers Tinashe Chinopfukutwa and Kelvin Kabaya of Zimbabwe Lawyers for Human Rights, who on 14 November 2024, wrote a letter of demand to Registrar-General Henry Machiri protesting against the refusal by officials at the Civil Registry Department to replace Kwekweza’s national identity card.
In the letter, Chinopfukutwa and Kabaya told Machiri that the refusal to replace Kwekweza’s national identity card was unlawful and violated her constitutional right to be issued with a national identity document, which is guaranteed under section 35(3)(c) of the Constitution.
Chinopfukutwa and Kabaya stressed that by virtue of Kwekweza being a Zimbabwean citizen, she was entitled to be issued with a national identity card and this right extends to every citizen and the enjoyment of this right is completely independent of the existence of any pending criminal charges against her.
The human rights lawyers stated that even convicted prisoners are entitled to be issued with national identity cards as long as they are Zimbabwean citizens.
Furthermore, Chinopfukutwa and Kabaya said the basis upon which Kwekweza was placed on the so-called “Stop List” has since been overtaken by events because the criminal charges of participating in a gathering with intent to promote public violence preferred against her in 2020, had fallen by the wayside as she had been discharged and acquitted at the close of the prosecution case sometime in 2021.
The human rights lawyers demanded that Machiri should within 48 hours of receiving their letter allow Kwekweza to replace her national identity card.
Chinopfukutwa and Kabaya advised Machiri that his failure to comply with their demand would lead them to institute legal proceedings against him to obtain appropriate relief on behalf of Kwekweza and the costs of such unnecessary litigation would be borne by the RG personally as there was no legal basis whatsoever for his refusal to replace the pro-democracy campaigner’s national identity card.
In a major about-turn, on Monday 25 November 2024, Machiri through Assistant Registrar-General Ben Mpala, responded to Chinopfukutwa and Kabaya’s letter and shyly invited Kwekweza to report at the RG’s Office, where he specifically assigned the Assistant Registrar-General responsible for national identity documents only identified as Mr Mbewe, whom he said, would issue the pro-democracy campaigner with a new synthetic national identity card.
Machiri advised Kwekweza to bring her original birth certificate and a copy of it and also avail her receipt for payment of the replacement fee for her national identity card, which had been issued at the Civil Registry Offices located at Market Square in Harare when she initially visited the offices on 30 October 2024.
ENDS
Zimbabwe Lawyers for Human Rights
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