Zimbabwe News Update
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3 min read
PANICKY Tanzanian authorities have reportedly denied entry to Zimbabwean human rights activist Blessing Vava before deporting him, amid rising tensions following the country’s tumultuous presidential election. Vava, the Director of the Crisis in Zimbabwe Coalition (CiZC), was barred from entering Tanzania and deported on Tuesday. He had travelled to meet with civil society organisations (CSOs) to discuss rights violations and to offer solidarity. CiZC described Vava’s deportation as a “barbaric act of repression.” In a statement, CiZC condemned the treatment of its director, describing it as an attack to human rights.
CiZC criticised President Samia Suluhu Hassan and her regime for trampling on the values of ubuntu and pan-Africanism that the country’s founding president, Julius Nyerere, stood for. Vava reportedly arrived at Julius Nyerere International Airport in Dar es Salaam on 28 October as part of a regional solidarity mission to engage with CSOs and social movements.
The mission aimed to discuss concerns over the escalating crackdown on dissent under what the coalition called the “increasingly authoritarian regime” which has also shut down the internet. Upon arrival, Vava’s passport was reportedly confiscated by immigration officials, who subjected him to hours of interrogation and profiling in restricted airport rooms. He was later informed that he was “not welcome in Tanzania” and labelled a security risk-without any formal explanation. The coalition said Vava spent the night detained in a holding cell at the airport without blankets before being deported on 29 October. Tanzanian officials have remained mum on the incident.
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