ANB-BIA SUPPLEMENT

The earlier prediction by analysts that Zimbabwe’s President Robert Mugabe’s controversial land reform programme would affect many people in the region is proving correct. Immigrants to Zimbabwe from neighbouring southern African countries are feeling the pinch. Malawians who travelled to that country two decades ago, are hard hit

Thousands of people in Zimbabwe who trace their origin from Malawi, have become destitute, following a recent amendment of the Zimbabwe Citizenship Act which observer’s claim is targeted at the white commercial farmers. But there are also large numbers of immigrant farm workers from such neighbouring countries as Mozambique, Zambia and Botswana. It is estimated that over three million Malawians live in Zimbabwe. They are prime targets during the unrest resulting from land redistribution.

Malawians thus stranded in Zimbabwe can’t be granted citizenship by the Malawian government, because they did not renounce their dual citizenship after living in Zimbabwe for 22 years. Also, when their white masters were being forcibly evicted by the ZANU-PF militants, the immigrant farmworkers had not received their terminal benefits, and cannot get in touch with the white commercial farmers they had served for many years.

Citizenship Acts

Zimbabwe’s amended Citizenship Act stipulates that if a citizen of Zimbabwe at the date of the year 2001 amendment, is also a citizen of a foreign country, he/she shall cease to be a citizen of Zimbabwe. What makes life tougher for Malawians is the corresponding Malawi Act which states that any person who, upon the attainment of 21 years is a citizen of Malawi and also to his best knowledge is a citizen of some other country, shall, upon his 22 birthday cease to be a citizen of Malawi.

Many Malawians are trying desperately to weave their way through the Zimbabwean Home Affairs machinery to obtain citizenship. Some Malawian women are marrying Zimbabwean men as one way of clarifying their status, but things are not easy too since they have to part with a considerable sum of money to get their required Zimbabwean citizenship documents. Most of the Malawians entered Zimbabwe without proper documents, which makes their case mor or less hopeless.

Elias Nkawa had been working at High Short Farm, about 75 kilometres north of Harare. He claims to originate from the southern Malawi district of Machika, but cannot remember how long he lived there. Ever since his former employer left his farm, Nkawa has nothing with which to feed his family and has no place he can call «home». He bemoans the fact that both the government of Malawi and Zimbabwe are not doing much to alleviate the plight of immigrant farm workers. He’s somewhat bitter with the situation. «Our employers did not have our problems when they were forced from their farms. They simply jumped into their cars and drove off. We’re really without anywhere to go», Nkawa told the Malawi News.

Both the Malawian and Zimbabwean governments are aware of the problem, and are promising to work out a solution. However, Malawi’s High Commission points out that most of the people travelled to Zimbabwe twenty years ago, which makes it difficult to prove they are really Malawians.

Malawi’s Home Affairs Minister, Monjeza Maluza, promises his government will do everything possible. He said he is concerned because Zimbabwe is hosting a lot of Malawians and this doesn’t make things easy for the Zimbabwean authorities. He couldn’t give exact figures, though. He says: «It’s not yet a hopeless situation. There is light at the end of the tunnel because our negotiations with our counterparts (the Zimbabwe government) are proving to be fruitful».

• Hobbs Gama,  Malawi, October 2002 — © Reproduction authorised, with usual acknowledgment