Namatai Kwekweza Faces "Identity Crisis" After Government Blocks ID Replacement
Human rights activist Namatai Kwekweza has been unable to replace her Identification Document (ID) at the Department of Civil Registry due to being placed on the government’s “Stop List.”
Kwekweza, the founder of WELEAD Trust, was arrested on July 31 alongside two other pro-democracy campaigners, Robson Chere and Samuel Gwenzi.
They were charged with disorderly conduct for allegedly staging a protest at the Harare Magistrates Court.
The alleged demonstration aimed to demand the release of Jameson Timba, the interim leader of the Citizens Coalition for Change (CCC), and other opposition activists.
After initially being denied bail by Harare Magistrate Ruth Moyo—who cited concerns about the activists potentially committing further offences and interfering with state witnesses—they were granted bail by the High Court on September 4.
Kwekweza, Chere, Gwenzi, and another individual, Vusa Moyo, were forcibly removed from a plane at Robert Gabriel Mugabe International Airport by unidentified state agents. They were held incommunicado and tortured for several hours before being handed over to the police.
This was not Kwekweza’s first arrest; she has previously faced similar situations and has reportedly been under surveillance by state security agents due to her activism.
On Thursday, Kwekweza shared her experience on X, revealing how she discovered her blacklisted status while attempting to replace her worn-out ID at Market Square. Below is her account:
Apparently I’m blacklisted by the Government so I can not get an Identification Document: They called it a STOP LIST!
Gather here if you have a moment: Today I went to replace my ID at Market Square. I went with the old ID to turn it in as part of requesting a new one as it is in a bad condition and I can no longer see my face.
The ID had been fading for some years and I never bothered to do a replacement earlier because at least I could see my face. Additionally, I was dreading the long queues so I waited it out. Now that my ID is in a bad state, I decided to replace it.
My experiences with the queues and general services were not bad at all. Generally, the queue moved quickly. The staff was pleasant, helpful, humorous, engaged, and efficient.
I passed through all the way to pay 10 USD for the replacement on I think counter 8 and eventually was requested to go to door number 17 where they would finish the process, take a picture, and give me an ID.
I almost believed this would be my best experience at a government documentation office. However, the colleagues at the registrar began to look at my papers weirdly and their screens.
A woman whom I was later told was the supervisor was called and she took my papers and asked me to follow her. She took me to a different office and already I felt anxious, I could tell something was wrong.
At this different office, I was informed that I was on a “Stop List” and I asked what it meant. She advised me it could result from a security issue, investigations, or pending court case.
This said they should not assist me, and instructed me to get my 10 USD refund and proceed to Makombe Building and go to security and investigations.
I went there and the first office I entered was CR 508, I met a rude gentleman who refused to introduce himself and only said you have issues at the courts and when all the issues are finished the courts should write to us and we will remove you from the list.
I went on to probe if the courts had actually given them an order to deny me an ID. I brought out my order from the high court which does not state turning in my ID card and my passport as a bail condition.
The man rudely brushed me off and referred me to the woman in the same office who basically repeated the same things. I was appealed and in disbelief.
I know people can be denied passports if it is a bail condition. But an ID card being denied is a new one. I further asked them both for their names and they refused to respond and referred me to door CR 510, which is the System Analyst Office.
I waited for over an hour and eventually met the man from that office. He was very polite and firm and basically told me that this issue was beyond them and I had to go to the courts.
When I produced my high court order still insisted that the courts had not ordered that I be denied my ID and passport, he then checked again in the system and informed me that since 2020 I had been on the stop list because of a case before the courts.
I then recalled that in 202o after my arrest, one of my bail conditions was to turn in my passport to the police which I did. Two years later in 2022, the state failed to prove a case and we won.
Subsequently, the police gave me back my passport as the matter was over. I was then informed that I had to go back to the courts and then write that the matter was indeed over before they could assist me with an ID and Passport document.
I thanked the man and left but I knew there was something fishy and unconstitutional about all this.
Firstly, what kind of nonsense is a “STOP List” secondly, what law informs that? Thirdly, even if the courts had ordered the police to take my passport as a bail condition to ensure I was not a flight risk in 2020, did the same order say that I should be denied an ID card which is a constitutional right?
Or maybe there are deeper systemic issues at play. Whatever the case might be what happened today is definitely unconstitutional and must be challenged!
More: Pindula News
