The granting of Robert Mugabe’s henchman, the CIO Agent, Phillip Machemedze the right to remain in the United Kingdom is a sad and worrying development in British asylum system. The MDC UK External Assembly strongly objects to this move and call upon British government to intervene and have the decision reversed. We are also appealing to British citizens and their communities, the human rights organisations and all those who understand our plea, to join us in this call.
MDC UK & Ireland External Assembly fully understands the United Nations Refugees Charter that was adopted at the Geneva Convention on Refugees in 1951. It provides for those who are running away from persecution and it listed religious persecution, political persecution and ethnicity persecution as key types of persecution. It does not cover self confessed criminals who are perpetrators of such persecutions like Phillip Machemedze this CIO Agent. He belongs to prison for the crimes against humanity that are being prevented in this Charter. MDC memberships who sort asylum in the United Kingdom were running away from people of the likes of Phillip Machemedze. It was not safe to live in the same community with him in Zimbabwe and it’s still not safe for the hunted to be refugees living in the same community with their hunters.
We believe that this confession made by Phillip Machemedze should have been a clear evidence of the fear that our members have. It should have helped the Immigrations Courts to quickly consider favourably claims for our genuine MDC membership and political activists. As victims of persecution, our members have waited years for their cases to be concluded. They continue to wait and live as beggars while Phillip Machemedze is granted leave to remain in the United Kingdom ahead of their cases. This decision is an attack to humanity and we humbly ask that this case to be reconsidered. The British government should protect victims and should not harbour criminals in their communities.
Tonderai Samanyanga
External Assembly Chairman
MDC UK & Ireland External Assembly
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