A renowned journalist, Twitter sensation
According to Nick Mangwana, the Permanent Secretary in the Information, Publicity and Broadcasting Service of Zimbabwe, Hundeyin, who holds a Nigerian Passport, applied for asylum in Ghana and subsequently used the same travel documents to enter Zimbabwe.
The Zimbabwean government has provided clarification regarding the arrest and subsequent detention of David Hundeyin, a Nigerian investigative journalist and activist, at Harare Airport on Wednesday.
Nick Mangwana, said , Hundeyin, who possessed a Nigerian Passport, applied for asylum in Ghana and subsequently used the same travel documents to enter Zimbabwe. The journalist was immediately apprehended, held in custody, and subsequently deported from the country.
Earlier yesterday, Hundeyin had expressed concern about being held by the Zimbabwean government at Harare Airport. On Twitter, Hundeyi claimed he was allegedly held captive in a malodorous, secured chamber for a duration of approximately seven hours.
Speaking on the detention, the Zimbabwe Permanent Secretary, Mangwana tweeted, “It seems David Hundeyin while carrying a Nigerian Passport, he is seeking asylum in Ghana and those are the papers he travelled with. Unfortunately for him, Ghanians are not allowed in Zimbabwe without a VISA and he was promptly arrested, detained and deported.
“I am sorry that this journalist found himself in this situation. That said, we do have Immigration laws in our country that are obligatory to all prospective entrants, and no profession is immune to them. If someone’s travel document is such that they need a Visa, that law applies to everyone including “an award winning journalist”. Our laws are blind to social stations or attended achievements.
“Jaqui, since he has chosen to put all his issues out without making full disclosure, it forces us to give details we would have preferred not. But we realize this may affect how Zimbabweans are treated when they visit Nigeria so we are going give the information here.
“David came with Ghanaian Refuge papers claiming he was a Nigerian who was a refuge from his home country. His country of Asylum is Ghana after claiming to be running away from persecution in Nigeria. People in this category certainly need Visas to enter Zimbabwe. He wasn’t coming in to work as a journalist. He said he was just coming to visit but without getting a Visa in Ghana first. Other parts of his story were also unsatisfactory to the immigration authorities. He was considered not a candidate for entry into Zimbabwe.”
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