UK suspends forced removals of failed Zimbabwean asylum seekers

By Violet Gonda
27 September 2006

The Home Office in the United Kingdom has confirmed in open court that removals of failed Zimbabwean asylum seekers would be suspended again until the appeal in the “AA” case was decided by the Court of Appeal.

In early August, the British government had won the right to deport thousands of failed Zimbabwean asylum seekers but lawyers representing them are trying to appeal against the decision.

This followed a lengthy legal battle in which the Asylum and Immigration Tribunal (AIT) had said there was not an automatic risk that Zimbabweans returned to Mugabe’s regime would face a ‘real risk of being subjected to persecution or serious ill-treatment.’

Following the initial ruling on this case the British authorities had started detaining failed Zimbabwean asylum seekers and setting removal directions but AA’s lawyers have been lodging proceedings in the UK Administrative Court whenever they became aware of such removal directions.

In the course of one of those cases, the judge invited the Home Office to confirm that forced removals of Zimbabweans would be suspended, pending the outcome of the AA proceedings in the Court of Appeal, since the judge was not prepared to rule that the AA appeal was bound to fail. The Home Office barrister agreed in open court that forced removals of failed asylum seekers would be suspended for the time being, until after the Court of Appeal had ruled on the AA case.

The news comes in the wake of demonstrations by Zimbabweans living in the UK who have been protesting against deportations. At recently held Labour and Tory conferences, protesters handed in petitions highlighting the plight of the failed asylum seekers and the need for the British government to protect them.

Reacting to the latest news Dorcas Muzengi, a failed asylum seeker, said; “I am quite pleased with the outcome because this is what we have been telling the government from the word go that Zimbabwe is not safe. So to me it shows that they are listening. Whatever the outcome of this case we will take it as it comes. But at the moment it shows they are listening.”