David Hundeyin, an award-winning Nigerian journalist, was detained for over 10 hours at Harare Airport in Zimbabwe before being deported from the country.
Hundeyin had arrived in Zimbabwe from Ghana, where he had sought asylum for political persecution in his country. He was denied entry due to improper documentation, despite using the travel document of a country with a visa-free relationship. The Nigerian journalist tweeted on 19 July:
I landed in Zimbabwe earlier [today], and I have been detained at Harare Airport inside a smelly locked room for nearly 7 hours. They said that despite using the travel document of a country with a visa-free relationship, my nationality is still Nigerian, and thus, I need a visa.
I’ve been allowed to use the loo for the first time in 10 hours, and I’ve been assured that I will be allowed to catch my exit flight. I will keep updating until I board and have my passport returned to me.
Hundeyin’s detention and deportation sparked criticism on social media, with Hopewell Chin’ono, an award-winning journalist of Zimbabwean origin, calling out the Zimbabwean government. Chin’ono said:
The journalist you are detaining at the airport is the African journalist of the year for 2020. He is a big journalist in Nigeria and not a chancer.
In response, Nick Mangwana, a senior Zimbabwean government official, stated that Hundeyin had entered Zimbabwe with Ghanaian refugee papers claiming to be a Nigerian who was a refugee from his home country. Mangwana said that Hundeyin’s story was unsatisfactory to the immigration authorities and he was not considered a candidate for entry into Zimbabwe. Mangwana said:
Since he has chosen to put all his issues out without making full disclosure, it forces us to give details we would have preferred not. But we realize this may affect how Zimbabweans are treated when they visit Nigeria so we are going give the information here. David came with Ghanaian Refuge papers claiming he was a Nigerian who was a refuge from his home country. His country of Asylum is Ghana after claiming to be running away from persecution in Nigeria. 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.
Hundeyin later reported the matter to the Ghanaian government.