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Zimbabwean authorities forced to return Raymond Majongwe's passport
Violet Gonda, SW Radio Africa
January 18, 2006

http://www.swradioafrica.com/news180106/majongwe180106.htm

Raymond Majongwe, the Secretary General of the Progressive Teachers Union and a member of the Zimbabwe Congress of Trade Unions General Council finally had his passport back in his hands on Wednesday. This was after the Zimbabwe lawyers for Human Rights gave the police 48hrs to return the passport or face legal action. The human rights group who were representing Majongwe, received the passport on Tuesday from the police, a month after the travel document was impounded when the activist arrived in Harare from Nigeria.

Arnold Tsunga the Director of the Zimbabwe Lawyers for Human Rights said a letter of demand was sent, stating the seizure was unlawful and that the police had no legitimate or legal basis to be holding onto Majongwe’s passport.

The outspoken activist had his passport confiscated on the 16 th of December at the Harare International Airport, as he arrived from an International Labour Organisation workshop on HIV and AIDS in Nigeria.

Earlier that week the authorities had confiscated the passports of two government critics, newspaper owner Trevor Ncube and MDC official Paul Temba Nyathi. These were later returned after the High Court ruled that it was illegal for the government to seize the passports of its critics. Tsunga said clearly the police and the Chief Immigration Officer were acting on the basis of political instructions, which had no legal basis.

It is believed that the 3 are on a list of 64 people whose passports the government intend to seize. This incident follows the amendment of the Zimbabwe constitution, which provides for the withdrawal of travel documents from all Zimbabweans who are perceived to be enemies of the state.

Tsunga said the return of Majongwe’s document is a small victory which has no political significance in terms of the broader political process in the country but significant in that the government will comply with the rule of law where there is no threat to the balance of the political mapping in the country.

He warned that once they have sorted out the regulatory framework, which is the precondition for the amendment to work, it will not be a surprise to see the government, "begin to selectively target individuals especially human rights defenders; who are seen as an impact in terms of the world knowing what is happening in the country and in terms of influencing the grassroots communities."

Tsunga believes the government will use that to fix political opponents who are seen as having the biggest impact in terms of the need for society to transform itself to a better state.

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