ZEF Vs Home Affairs Judgement Download

About Us

The Zimbabwe Exiles Forum is a Southern African non-political, non-profit and non-partisan organisation with an eye on the future of Zimbabwe. It was founded in 2003 in South Africa on the premise that political change that will usher in a democratic dispensation where human dignity and civil liberties are sacrosanct in Zimbabwe is inevitable.

ZEF is however concerned that little or nothing is being done to prepare for this change. In this regard ZEF is engaged in research, documentation, advocy, lobbying and litigation around issues of human rights in Zimbabwe 

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Does a Zimbabwe farm invader get refugee status?

http://ukhumanrightsblog.com/2012/07/05/from-zimbabwean-farm-invasions-to-refugee-status/

SK (Zimbabwe) v Secretary of State for the Home Office 19 June 2012 – read judgment

This case raises the interesting question whether someone who was involved as a member of the ruling Zimbabwe Zanu PF party with farm invasions can be eligible for refugee status. The answer is a definite no: the High Court held that the Upper Tribunal had been entirely correct in finding that a Zimbabwean national, who had beaten farm workers in farm invasions intended to drive farmers and farm workers away from their farms, had committed inhumane acts amounting to crimes against humanity under the Rome Statute art.7(1)(k) and therefore by virtue of the Convention relating to the Status of Refugees 1951 (United Nations) art.1F(a) was excluded from refugee status.

Background Facts

The appellant was a Zimbabwean asylum seeker. She had been actively involved with Zanu PF mobs in two farm invasions, shortly after which she was raped by another member of the youth militia. It was this rape which had led to her leaving Zimbabwe for England, after eleven months in the militia.

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Youths encouraged to vote

http://www.thestandard.co.zw


Sunday, 08 July 2012 11:26

BY OUR STAFF
A campaign to mobilise thousands of youths to register as voters and 
participate in the next elections has been launched.

Its target is to encourage young people to re-assert their strategic 
position as political game changers.

The campaign, dubbed “X1G”, is a non-partisan initiative aimed at educating, 
motivating and encouraging youths to effectively participate in the 
electoral process. It is being coordinated by the Election Resource Centre 
(ERC) in collaboration with a consortium of 10 youth organisations.

ERC director, Tawanda Chimhini, said the campaign was being launched after 
the realisation that the majority of youths in the country had lack of 
interest in the electoral process.

“Less than 34% of the registered voters are youths below 35 years of age, 
yet demographic details shows that they constitute more than 50% of the 
total population,” he said at the launch of the campaign on Friday.

Chimhini said despite numerous challenges they were facing, the youths now 
sought to become registered voters and ultimately the key deciders of any 
prevailing government.

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Zimbabwe should do more to protect children's rights

http://www.thestandard.co.zw


Sunday, 08 July 2012 11:54

Tonderayi Matonho

The recent pronouncements by the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Navi 
Pillay, that Zimbabwe needs to do more in protecting children through a 
violence-free environment, is profound. The current social, economic and 
political relations do not benefit but destroy children’s prospects as 
leaders in their own right. Pieces of legislation and policy should be 
crafted that deal with issues of past atrocities as these have a negative 
effect on the growth of children in this country.

Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai is also on record saying mechanisms should 
be put in place to create a database of all the victims of political 
violence, especially children and women. These processes will enable the 
creation of the rightful place of children in the socio-economic and 
political development policy across diverse sectors of society.

Cases that have a direct and an indirect bearing on the growth of children 
abound in this country. Gukurahundi refers to the armed disturbances that 
rocked parts of Matabeleland and Midlands provinces in the 1980s. There are 
reports of people who struggled to get birth certificates because both 
parents died during this sad period.

Politically-motivated violence and the chaotic farm invasions in the last 
decade or so have had their debilitating effects on the well-being of 
children across the country. Child experts say that those in the margins of 
society are also on the margins of justice. This is the case for children 
more than any other group in society.

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Jabulani Sibanda terrorises Zaka

http://www.dailynews.co.zw/

Written by Wendy Muperi, Staff Writer
Sunday, 08 July 2012 14:22

MASVINGO - Villagers in Zaka told Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai yesterday 
that war veterans leader Jabulani Sibanda was terrorising them again ahead 
of crucial polls set for next year.

Sibanda was in Masvingo on a Zanu PF campaign programme dubbed “Operation 
Kubudirana Pachena”.

Sibanda has been threatening MDC supporters with death if they continue 
supporting the former opposition movement.

Zaka’s four constituencies are under MDC.

He has since left Masvingo, although he religiously pays a visit to the 
province for an indoctrination of the grassroots in Zanu PF propaganda.

Tsvangirai, who was in Masvingo Province to assess Constituency Development 
Fund projects — an initiative brought about by the inclusive government to 
enable legislators to embark on developmental projects.

Luke Tamborinyoka, Tsvangirai’s spokesperson said his boss was taking 
complaints from villagers seriously.

“The PM received reports that the community was now living in fear following 
the recent visit by Jabulani Sibanda. People now live in fear for their 
lives,” Tamborinyoka told the Daily News on Sunday.

Tsvangirai told the villagers to desist from violence and live in harmony.

He appealed to all political parties to live and deal with each other in 
harmony irrespective of their political ideologies.

“PM Tsvangirai called on the different party leadership of Zaka to co-exist 
in peace and allow every political party to hold its rallies freely without 
interference,” Tamborinyoka said.

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