David Hundeyin, a journalist from Nigeria, had long wanted to travel to Zimbabwe, but when the opportunity presented itself early this week, he was forced to spend 10 hours in a filthy, cramped, dark room before being deported.
One of the 2023 James Currey Fellows at the University of Cambridge is investigative journalist Hundeyin.
His trip to Zimbabwe was connected to the fellowship because he was scheduled to give a speech there at the invitation of a Zimbabwean James Currey Foundation member.
“I have wanted to visit since I was at university over 12 years ago,” he said without disclosing his location, only saying he was “far away from Zimbabwe”.
Hundeyin claimed he inquired about travel requirements with the Zimbabwean embassy before leaving Ghana, where he is located.
“I confirmed from the Zimbabwean embassy that I wouldn’t need a visa on account of my Ghanaian passport.
“They said as long as the airline was happy to recognize my Ghanaian refugee passport, they had no problem with recognizing it as a Ghanaian passport. It was up to the airline,” he added.
Hundeyin travelled without incident on Ethiopian Airlines to Harare, but she ran into problems when she got to Robert Mugabe International Airport.
“I got to Harare and the next thing I knew, I was being denied entry and processed for removal for not having a visa.
“They claimed Zimbabwe does not recognize refugee passports as passports, and so the visa free status of Ghanaian passport holders in Zimbabwe did not apply to me,” he said.
He was regarded as a Nigerian who entered Zimbabwe illegally because of that. The nightmare began at that time.
Hundeyin said:
They locked me in a tiny room without windows that smelled of pee, with a door that locked from the outside for over 10 hours without any communication or indication about what was happening.
Fortunately, they did not take away his phone, and he immediately began tweeting to warn others.
Authorities in Zimbabwe were alerted to the situation by a fellow journalist and a YouTuber.
“It was when my friends, Wode Maya and Hopewell Chin’ono, started making calls that things started moving.
“Prior to that, it seemed they had quite literally forgotten about me in there. The people who locked me in had ended their shifts and gone home,” Hundeyin said.
His predicament was documented on social media, where government spokesman Nick Mangwana urgently outlined the government’s position about Hundeyin’s visa issue.
In several tweets, Mangwana stated: “David came with Ghanaian refugee credentials stating he was a Nigerian who was a refugee from his native country. He claims to be fleeing persecution in Nigeria and has sought asylum in Ghana.
“People in this category certainly need visas to enter Zimbabwe. He wasn’t coming in to work as a journalist.
“He said he was just coming to visit but without getting a visa in Ghana first. Other parts of his story were also unsatisfactory to the immigration authorities.
“He was considered not a candidate for entry into Zimbabwe.”
According to Hundeyin, the Zimbabwean government’s response varied from unsatisfactory to suspicious.
“Mangwana dishonestly implied that I entered Zimbabwe unlawfully for some type of covert purpose, despite the fact that I used a valid passport that I’ve never had trouble using elsewhere, including the UK and EU, and that I repeatedly clarified my visit’s purpose to the immigration officer.
