REGISTRAR-General Tobaiwa Mudede’s remarks that the government will not seek to re-align the Citizenship Act to the new Constitution regarding the issue of dual citizenship, claiming it posed a security threat to the country are regrettable, unfortunate and a sad development for the country.
Comment: NewsDay Editor
We believe Mudede’s utterances are political and meant to curry favour with Zanu PF’s hardliners, who believe dual citizenship holders are a threat to their stranglehold on power.
In a normal democracy Mudede should be censored and forced to resign.
In fact Mudede is doing more damage than good to the country’s image with poorly thought out statements that are designed to denigrate the Constitution and cast aspersions on the country’s Statutes.
One wonders what Mudede wants to accomplish with his statements given Zimbabwe has an estimated three million of its nationals living in the Diaspora, mostly in South Africa and the United Kingdom, many of whom are now holders of dual citizenship.
It is people of Mudede’s ilk who have played a huge part in dispossessing these citizens of their rights to vote through the back door.
How Mudede still believes dual citizenship should not be allowed when it’s steeped into the country’s governance charter boggles the mind.
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It is regrettable that Mudede last Wednesday reportedly indicated to a Zanu PF parliamentary caucus in Harare that the government would instead move for the amendment of the supreme law to abolish provisions allowing dual citizenship even before they had been effected.
Where is the rule of law in all this? Why should Mudede be allowed to reduce this great nation into a Banana republic? Yes, Zanu PF would indeed welcome the Registrar-General’s recommendations for fear of reforming itself out of power, but we believe that in a democratic State, the people’s wishes must be respected. If Zanu PF is not happy with the amendment they should use legal ways such as a referendum to block dual citizenship.
It is a shame that Mudede could exhibit his ignorance on matters that Zimbabweans would expect him to be conversant with.
We urge all opposition players eager to ensure a democratic society to fight against Mudede’s machinations. The RG exhibited his ignorance of Chapter 3(42) of the Constitution which is clear about dual citizenship – for one may become a citizen of Zimbabwe by birth, descent or registration.
Mudede should respect the wishes of the people who contributed to the new Constitution, which now guarantees dual citizenship as long as one’s grandparents were citizens by birth.
It is a poser that a character who has a bizarre past and present history, and whose job has always been linked to rigging elections on behalf of Zanu PF would now want to have relevance at a time the country is preparing for the 2018 general elections.
Government must ignore Mudede’s outrageous intent, for the good of peaceful co-existence as a people.
We are obliged to ask — why is Mudede still in the civil service when he is past the retirement age? Why should Zimbabweans be subjected to humiliation and emotional torture by bureaucrats/technocrats such as Mudede?
Besides, the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission has taken over most of his roles during voting — therefore, we urge the Civil Service Commission to streamline the organisation and pension him.
Mudede has lost his mandate. His utterances are retrogressive and backward.
