SA deportee stateless after Zimbabwe snub

A MAN who was deported from South Africa for allegedly violating the neighbouring country's immigration laws has found himself in a quandary after he was also declared an illegal immigrant in Zimbabwe.

Mr Daniel Desire Mncube (46) faces deportation back to South Africa after the Registrar General's office failed to find his name in the country's births and deaths records.

He has become "stateless." Statelessness occurs when an individual is not considered as a citizen of any state, and it affects an estimated 12 million people worldwide.

Mr Mncube through his lawyer, Mr Bruce Masamvu, said his deportation was fraught with procedural irregularities. He was deported on May 13 this year by the South African Deaprtment of Home Affairs after he was declared an illegal immigrant and is now staying in Beitbridge.

Mr Mncube's father was believed to be a Zimbabwean married to a South African. Both parents are late.

According to copies of his original documents, Mr Mncube was born in South Africa on February 12, 1970. He acquired his ID in March 1993.

"I was arrested on February 19, 2016 by South African immigration officials in Pretoria alleging that I was an illegal immigrant from Zimbabwe. I produced my identity documents and they seized them under the guise that they wanted to verify my citizenship status before they handed me over to the police," said Mr Mncube.

Upon being released from police custody last month, they deported him to Zimbabwe and did not return his particulars.

The confiscated documents include a passport, driver's licence and an ID card.

Mr Masamvu said when he contacted the South African Embassy officials in Harare on behalf of Mr Mncube, they failed to give a satisfactory explanation.

Ms Grace Sekgothe, who is Second Secretary responsible for immigration and civic services at the South African Embassy, confirmed that they aware of Mr Mncube's case but declined to comment.

Mr Masamvu said Mr Mncube's deportation was unlawful and in violation of the South African Citizenship Act.

"Mncube is a South African and belongs to that country and his deportation is illegal and a violation of that country's laws. The deportation wasn't proper because the South African immigration authorities didn't bother to clarify his status with their Zimbabwean counterparts who clearly indicated that he wasn't on the Registrar-General Office's records," said Masamvu.

Section 2 (1) (a) of the South African Citizenship Amendment Act of 2010, reads: "Any person who immediately prior to the date of commencement of the South African Citizenship Amendment Act of 2010, was a South African citizen by birth or (b) who is born in or outside the Republic, one of his or her parents, at the time of his or her birth, being a South African citizen, shall be a South African citizen by birth."

Mr Masamvu said they have since written a letter to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Mr Mncube is married to Sarah Ntsholo, who is a South African and the couple has two children.

A 1954 United Nations convention on stateless people urges countries in which such people reside, to integrate and naturalise them.