Zimbabwe tightens screws on marriage scams

GOVERNMENT has introduced measures to flush out foreigners and unscrupulous locals who have been abusing Zimbabwe's marriage laws. The new measures include computerisation and serialised marriage certificates to curb multiple marriages,  marriages of convenience and immigration fraud.

Government wants to thwart cases of foreigners flouting Zimbabwean laws to regularise their stay in the country by entering into marriages of convenience to acquire resident permits and citizenship in Zimbabwe.

Culprits mostly from Nigeria and the Democratic Republic of Congo among other countries enter into marriages of convenience and marry more than one wife using different names to secure Zimbabwean citizenship.

In an interview yesterday, chief magistrate Mr Mishrod Guvamombe said they had introduced this new system to eradicate marriage fraud, especially by foreigners who pay local women to acquire citizenship.

"Marriages are now serialised, meaning that all recorded marriages have a serial number and are computerised at the Registrar General's Office. They are no longer just documents, which could be done by anyone. We have, through this system, managed to plug out all loopholes and it's going to be difficult for foreigners or anyone to have multiple marriages under Chapter 5:11," Mr Guvamombe said.

He said under the new system, all solemnised marriages were computerised and in the event of anyone attempting to marry for the second time, the system would catch them.

Mr Guvamombe said the RG's Office had records of all marriages on its computer database, which also has national registration numbers and passport details.

He said all foreigners marrying were required to produce a certificate of no marriage from their country, which will be verified before they are allowed to marry in Zimbabwe.

"Foreigners have to produce a certificate of no marriage and we verify this. Most of these foreigners trying to marry are arrested by immigration," Mr Guvamombe said.

Marriage officers were empowered under Section 16 subsection 3 of the Marriages Act to investigate anyone before solemnising any marriage.

Mr Guvamombe said since the introduction of the new system, cases of marriage fraud had declined.

"What you are seeing being reported in courts are just old cases resurfacing, but otherwise we don't have any case reported recently. The situation is under control," he said.

Assistant Regional Immigration Officer Mr Francis Mabika said the department was working together with the magistrates and RG's Office to arrest marriages of convenience.

"We are working together under a tripartite arrangement to control the situation of marriages of convenience and multiple marriages that had gone out of hand," Mr Mabika said.

He said the Immigration Department provided the marriage officers with factual information about the status of foreigners marrying before any marriage could be legalised.

"Previously, some foreigners were using fake documents to marry local women but we have started providing information to the officers so that any illegal immigrant is detected," he said.

Mr Mabika said between October and December last year at least 20 cases of marriages of convenience were recorded.

"Some of the marriages were entered into two to three years back, but were unearthed recently. Some of those arrested have been prosecuted, convicted and deported while others are still facing trial," he said.

In most marriages of convenience, the women are lured with money or property.