Ex-immigration official blacklisted

By Nyasha Dube

FORMER Principal Immigration Officer Munyaradzi Mushimbo has approached the High Court seeking to have the Zimbabwe Financial Clearing Association (ZFCA) remove his name from the roll of blacklisted people.
In the application, he cited Portcullis Financial Clearing Bureau (PFCB), an affiliate of ZFCA, as the respondent. Mushimbo was arrested last February on charges of criminal abuse of office after he reportedly facilitated the illegal stay of Chinese nationals in the country but was later found not guilty and acquitted on March 2.

According to the application, Mushimbo is a director at Hedridge Investments, Golden Keyz Mine, Octa Front Consultants as well as Glen Freight Logistics, dealing in freight, mining and logistics.

On December 31, a commercial bank informed Mushimbo that his account had been declined to his dismay as a transfer of RTGS$120 000 had been done only days before.

He attempted to open new accounts with other banks to no avail, leading him to conclude that PFCB had not removed him from the blacklist, making it impossible for him to trade.

Mushimbo, represented by Tatenda Mushangwe, approached the High Court citing that the tag on Mushimbo was due to a newspaper article and should not even have been placed on him to begin with.

“It is obvious from a cursory look at the circumstances that the tag is intended by the respondent to be ad infinitum. I do not want to delve much into the fact that the tag must not even have been placed in the first place on account of a newspaper article,” the application reads.

“That despite, the listing itself on the mere basis of a newspaper article and with no follow through on the finalisation of the matter fails to convince anyone that the national reasonable man on the proverbial commuter omnibus would consider that conduct to be reasonable.”

He is also claiming that the tag is infringing on his constitutional right as it is hindering him from trading. “I have every reason to say that my constitutional rights are being infringed. I am not persuaded that there is any reasonable justification for such infringements on my rights.”