Zimbabwe: ‘Stateless’ prisoners rot in jail
Published: 11/Nov/2019
Source: Zimbabwe Daily
SCORES of prisoners without birth certificates and national identity cards are languishing in jail as they are ineligible for the Presidential amnesty due to their “Statelessness”.
BY JAMES MUONWA
A Stateless person is an undocumented individual without proof of nationality and is not legally recognised as a citizen of a particular country.
Testifying before the Zimbabwe Human Rights Commission (ZHRC) panel of inquiry in Chinhoyi last week, Zimbabwe Prisons and Correctional Services (ZPCS) chief correction officer, Gilbert Munemo acknowleged there were many inmates who have never obtained birth certificates and national identity cards.
“According to a recent survey we conducted in Mashonaland West, it was observed that many inmates do not have birth certificates and national identity documents,” said Munemo. He said, according to a sampled population of inmates in Mashonaland West prisons, the majority of them failed to access personal documents as they were raised by single parents and the stringent requirements at the Registrar-General’s department had prevented them from getting registered.
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