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Zvikomborero Parafini
DETAILS surrounding the issuance of passports to some Cameroonian nationals, and the subsequent arrest of employees from the Registrar General’s office, emerged in court yesterday.
The investigating officer, Christopher Lloyd Tarenyika, told the court that three cleaners led the foreign nationals through the passport office and helped them acquire their passports.
He told the court that he has managed to obtain the CCTV footage of the events on the day in question which will be used in court during the trial.
Ruramai Mutyatya, Maureen Natasha Munemo, Chiedza Hlomani, Romio Shonhiwa, Marian Roman, Tanaka Lisaphael Magaya, Edith Moto, Grace Kapungu, Lackmore Chinokokora, Neria Sombi, Trymore Chipanga and Acid Asidi appeared before Harare magistrate Marewanazvo Gofa yesterday charged with criminal abuse of office.
Mutyatya is employed by the Registrar General’s office as a supervisor.
Sombi, Chipanga and Asidi are employed by Advert (Pvt) Ltd as cleaners and are attached to the Registrar General’s office.
The rest are processing officers.
The court heard that on September 17, someone called Tafadzwa or Mai Tayara, who is still at large, connived with a quartet of Cameroonians — Christiana BoyembeDumba, Emile MuyaMuya, Marvel NgeiTegha and Yvette KumNnam — to acquire passports at the Registrar’s Office.
BoyembeDumba was issued a Zimbabwean passport bearing the name Christiana Mhereyenyoka, MuyaMuya was issued a passport bearing the name Emile Chingwaru, NgeiTegha was issued a passport bearing the name Marvel Chimbwanda and Yvette KumNnam was issued a passport bearing the name Yvette Maini.
The four are not Zimbabweans by birth and did not acquire Zimbabwean citizenship.
She allegedly fraudulently acquired Zimbabwean birth certificates for the four Cameroonian from the Registrar Office in Mount Darwin and national identity cards at the Registrar Office at Market Square in Harare.
Tafadzwa then connived with Sombi, Chipanga and Asidi, who are cleaners at the Registrar’s Office, to escort the quartet.
They escorted them from stage one up to the final stage of acquiring passports since they were not able to speak any one of Zimbabwe’s local languages or even pronounce the surnames of their newly- acquired Zimbabwean identities.
It is the State’s claim that the personnel at the Registrar’s office never spoke to the Cameroonians throughout the process and this was captured on the CCTV footage.
Prosecutor Lancelot Mutsokoti claimed that none of the personnel verified the information on the passport application forms and on the birth certificates, which had discrepancies, an act contrary to the nature of their duties.
On September 21, the Cameroonians were arrested at Beitbridge Border Post on their way to South Africa by Zimbabwean immigration Officers. – (@hmetro)
Online Reporter