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Chinese national faces deportation from Zimbabwe

by Staff reporter
16 Sep 2024 at 13:42hrs | Views
Chinese businessman Haozuan Song is currently detained at Harare Remand Prison and faces possible deportation to China over an unspecified offense, while his mother, controversial businesswoman Li Song, is being sought by the Department of Immigration on several criminal allegations.

Li Song, who has been embroiled in various legal battles, is accused of externalizing funds, defrauding tax authorities, and theft of trust property. Her son, Haozuan, has since filed an urgent application at the High Court in a bid to block his deportation.

In his application, Haozuan, through his lawyer Oliver Marwa, has cited Zimbabwe's Chief Director of Immigration and the Ministry of Home Affairs and Cultural Heritage as respondents. He argues that authorities are threatening to deport him without a court order or due process, infringing on his constitutional rights.

"Respondents have detained the applicant and threatened to deport without following due process and without a court order," Haozuan's application reads. "The respondents' conduct breaches the applicant's constitutional right to liberty and not to be arbitrarily deported without being afforded the chance to challenge the decision to deport him as provided for in terms of the Constitution of Zimbabwe."

Haozuan is seeking a declaratory order from the court to determine the legality of his detention and the deportation threats. The application is currently pending, with the businessman attempting to prevent his removal from Zimbabwe before legal proceedings are fully addressed.

Meanwhile, his mother, Li Song, is expected to appear in court on September 25. She faces serious allegations of externalizing more than US$6 million to an offshore account in Mauritius after falsifying documents to secure foreign currency from the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe's forex auction system.

Additionally, Li is accused of fraudulently avoiding the payment of US$40,000 in customs duty on sodium cyanide she imported from Mauritius last year. The trial is expected to shine a spotlight on her controversial business dealings in Zimbabwe.

As Haozuan Song awaits the outcome of his High Court application, his mother's legal troubles are set to continue, adding another chapter to the family's ongoing entanglement with Zimbabwean authorities.

Source - newsday