South Africa arrests Nyokayemabhunu, Zimbabwe seeks extradition

Wellington Masiwa, a vocal critic of the Zimbabwean government known by his social media alias Nyokayemabhunu, is facing possible deportation from South Africa after Zimbabwe issued an international arrest warrant seeking his extradition to serve an 18-month prison sentence for fraud.

A copy of the warrant, dated April 29, 2025, has emerged online, confirming that Zimbabwean authorities are pursuing Masiwa under the Southern African Development Community (SADC) Protocol on Extradition. The warrant instructs South African law enforcement to arrest and bring Masiwa before a magistrates' court to initiate extradition proceedings. It cites a conviction under Section 136 of Zimbabwe's Criminal Law (Codification and Reform) Act [Chapter 9:23] for a single count of fraud.

South African authorities acted on the warrant after Masiwa was arrested on April 13, 2025, in connection with alleged immigration violations. According to journalist Hopewell Chin'ono, Masiwa has been in custody since that date, accused of entering or remaining in South Africa without a valid visa or permit, in contravention of Section 49(1) of the Immigration Act.

Masiwa appeared before the Randburg Magistrates' Court on Wednesday, April 30, where the Zimbabwean warrant was officially served. However, his bail application was delayed due to discrepancies in identity documents submitted by the activist. While Zimbabwean authorities claim Masiwa was born in 1977, his birth certificate and national ID presented in court list his birth year as 1987. The Zimbabwean Embassy in Pretoria has since informed South African prosecutors that the documents are forgeries.

Masiwa's lawyer, Chrispen Machingura, insists that the extradition request is politically motivated. He said the fraud conviction being cited by Zimbabwe is merely a pretext to silence his client, who managed several WhatsApp groups highly critical of President Emmerson Mnangagwa's administration.

"This is not about fraud," said Machingura. "This is about silencing dissent. My client fears that if he is returned to Zimbabwe, he will be incarcerated not for any genuine criminal offense but for expressing his political views."

Adding to suspicions of political interference, Machingura also revealed that the WhatsApp groups formerly administered by Masiwa have since been hacked and repurposed to circulate pornographic content - a move he described as a deliberate attempt to discredit and humiliate the activist.

The Randburg court has postponed the matter to May 9, 2025, to allow further verification of Masiwa's identity and immigration status. If extradited, Masiwa could be sent back to Zimbabwe to serve the 18-month sentence outlined in the warrant.

Both Zimbabwe and South Africa are signatories to the SADC Protocol on Extradition, which enables mutual legal assistance in criminal matters. However, the case has raised questions among rights groups and legal observers about the potential abuse of extradition mechanisms for political purposes.

As the legal battle unfolds, Masiwa's case has sparked renewed concern about the treatment of government critics in Zimbabwe and the role of regional partnerships in suppressing dissent.