THE Home Affairs and Cultural Heritage ministry and the Department of Immigration stand accused of running a parallel justice system, after allegedly detaining a Chinese national despite the court releasing him weeks earlier.
Yin Xuntao, a mechanical engineer with Zhigao Machinery in Harare, was arrested on August 8 this year on allegations of money laundering, exchange control violation and firearm offences.
The following day, a magistrate granted him bail, and he was ordered to surrender his passport and deposit US$500 as bail.
But instead of walking free, Yin was immediately seized by immigration officials acting under the authority of the Home Affairs ministry and the chief immigration officer.
He has since been kept in custody under what his lawyers describe as an “extra-judicial warrant” — a mechanism not recognised at law.
Yin’s lawyers, Mahuni Gidiri Law Chambers, in their suit to have him released, say this behaviour amounts to contempt of court and deliberate subversion of Zimbabwe’s justice system.
“The respondents are standing as a backdoor review forum and undermining the orders of a competent court of law,” the urgent application, filed at the High Court, read.
Yin’s lawyers point out that he holds a valid temporary employment permit and an investment licence under the Zimbabwe Investment and Development Agency.
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He is not a “prohibited person” subject to deportation, meaning immigration has no lawful basis to detain him, they said.
The Constitution guarantees that no person — citizen or foreigner — may be detained without trial.
Section 50 states that anyone arrested must be released or brought before a court within 48 hours.
Yin has been locked up for nearly two months without charge, hearing or explanation, the lawyers argued.
In 2024, Justice Christopher Dube-Banda struck down section 8(1) of the Immigration Act, ruling that immigration officers have no authority to detain foreign nationals beyond 48 hours without judicial oversight.
That judgment, which remains binding, declared such detention unconstitutional and a violation of fundamental rights.
Yet, despite this, the two authorities have continued to hold Yin incommunicado, refusing to provide reasons for his detention despite repeated written requests from his lawyers.
“Immigration has turned itself into a shadow court, deciding who stays behind bars even after bail is granted,” a Harare lawyer remarked.
“This is nothing short of extra-judicial detention.”
