It's a criminal offence for Zimbabweans to have dual citizenship - Mohadi

GOVERNMENT has warned that it is a criminal offence for Zimbabweans to have dual citizenship following allegations that some people based in the diaspora were acquiring dual birth certificates   one in Zimbabwe and the other in the country they are based for their children.

Home Affairs co-Minister Kembo Mohadi said this following widespread allegations that parents with children born outside the country were not following the right procedures when they intend to acquire local birth certificates.

"We do not allow dual citizenship in this country, when someone gives birth in a foreign land they are supposed to be given what is called a birth acknowledgement note which informs us of a birth of a Zimbabwean outside. This is then used to acquire a birth certificate in Zimbabwe," said Minister Mohadi.

Investigations by Sunday News revealed that many Zimbabweans especially those based in South Africa were using fraudulent ways to acquire birth certificates for their children born in that country.

According to a source that is close to the happenings at the Registrar General's office in Bulawayo, it is alleged that birth certificates being issued at sub offices around the region were issued in a fraudulent manner with some parents acquiring the certificates for children born outside the country without following the right procedures.

It is said some children are born in neighbouring countries such as South Africa and Botswana where they are issued with birth certificates from that end; the same parent then comes to Zimbabwe to register the same child and obtains a Zimbabwean birth certificate but does not renounce the foreign citizenship.

The child then enjoys privileges from the countries they were born at the same time having Zimbabwean particulars.

Parents intending to obtain a birth certificate for children born outside are allegedly asked to pay $50.

"The parent produced South African documents when they wanted to get a Zimbabwean birth certificate only to be told that the fee is slightly more than a locally born child then they decided to just register the child as a Zimbabwean born child," said the source.

The officials then questioned the parents and revealed that she registered the child in the neighbouring country and wanted to register in Zimbabwe again so that the child can access documentation easily. These parents were not willing to renounce foreign citizenship.

According to an official at the registry, if a child is issued with an external birth certificate which indicates that they were born outside the country but are Zimbabwean, there are certain challenges that follow when they want to secure other documents.

This had made parents bribe processing officers various amounts of money to acquire the Zimbabwean birth certificates without birth records some paying as much as $100.

However, Bulawayo provincial registrar Mrs Jane Peters professed ignorance over the issue when she was contacted for comment.

"I do not know anything about it, as far as I am concerned we are still issuing birth certificates at sub offices," she said before hanging up the phone.

The practice has been happening at sub offices mainly as they are not strict on birth confirmation record as most children are from the rural areas or out skirts of the region and are born at home.

Parents from the Diaspora however provide false information to officers so that they are not asked to produce birth records and pretend the child was born at home.

Birth records are a pre-requisite for the acquisition of birth certificates. Birth records give proof of the place where the child was born; detailing the hospital and the ward where the child was born, the identity of the delivery nurse, as well as the name of the mother, and the name given to the child upon birth.

This requirement is very important as it guards against the theft of children and illegal adoptions.

This has made the sub offices issue hundreds of birth certificates to people coming from outside the country taking advantage of the loophole and parents who fail to pay required maternity fees.

This situation has prompted the RG's office to centralise the issuing of birth certificates for the mean time.

"The issuing of birth certificates has now been centralised due to this anomaly and will commence as soon as the situation is normalised hopefully. Our superiors just gave us the directive to stop issuing birth certificates," said the source.

Minister Mohadi said it was an administrative issue that the issuing of birth certificates at sub offices had been stopped.

"It is an administrative issue that they have stopped issuing birth certificates at sub offices that I cannot talk about but we will institute investigations and ensure that perpetrators of this crime are brought to book," he said.

The source said people from sub offices have been sending their documents to the district offices (Bulawayo and Umguza) for vetting but for the past three months no documents have been approved and people still have to come to the district office.

This they say has created many challenges as people have to travel from far areas such as Lupane, Tsholotsho, Hwange, Umguza and other areas to access birth certificates as the sub offices have become defunct to a great extent.

The source further said this situation had created a lot of pressure at the district offices as many people are flocking to the offices. This manner of acquiring documents fraudulently is reportedly occurring in various centres around the country too.