Reserve Bank chief was denied UK visa
By Lance Guma
27 August 2007.

August will be a month to forget for Reserve Bank governor Gideon Gono. Last week it was reported the Australian government gave his son Peter and twin daughters Praise and Pride, 5 days to leave the country after cancelling their student visa’s along with 5 other students whose parents are part of Mugabe’s Zanu PF party and government. Now it turns out that on the 17th August the British government denied the central bank chief a visa to travel to the United Kingdom.

The incident went unreported until the state owned Herald newspaper covered it last Friday. UK Home Office officials said the central bank governors’ presence would have been ‘inappropriate.’ The Herald allegedly quoted from a notice given to Gono accusing him of being, ‘involved in corrupt practices which have undermined democracy and the rule of law in Zimbabwe.’ The last time he visited the UK in 2004 to promote the Home Link ‘forex for property’ scheme, a storm of outrage and protests greeted his entourage. Angry crowds besieged the London, Luton and Birmingham meetings convened by Gono’s team.

A letter signed on behalf of UK Home Office Secretary Jacqui Smith is being quoted in the press and reads in part, ‘Any future admission of you to the UK may lead again to an increase in community tension. Furthermore, allowing you to enter the UK could be seen as condoning your actions and to give them credibility.’ The United States, New Zealand, Australia and now Britain have added Gono to their targeted sanctions list while several European countries are dragging their feet on adding him to theirs. On the 10th August Australia’s Foreign Affairs Minister Alexander Downer signed a document authorising the deportations of Gono’s 3 children and 5 others. He argued their presence was not in the best interests of the country. We have so far been unable to find out if the children are still in Australia.