Kazembe warns e-passport criminals

TENDAI BHEBE IN BULAWAYO

Home Affairs and Cultural Heritage minister, Kazembe Kazembe, has warned electronic passport criminal elements that defraud desperate citizens seeking the document that the arm of the law will soon catch up with them.

The fraudsters, are said to be mostly active in South Africa where there is a huge Zimbabwean community.

They are said to be using social media platforms with fake websites, Facebook pages and WhatsApp numbers with official-sounding names.

During the official launch of the e-passport centre at the Civil  Registry Office in Bulawayo last week,  Kazembe said the ministry was deeply concerned about criminal elements purporting to  be employees or agents of the civil registry department.

“My ministry is deeply concerned about criminal elements purporting to employees or agents of the civil registry department. They are defrauding citizens of their hard earned cash promising facilitation to acquire e-passports. I wish to unequivocally state that these bogus individuals do not in any way represent the Ministry and we disassociate ourselves from them,” he said.

He said citizens should get information from the Civil Registry Department when they are facing challenges and desist from engaging intermediaries.

Kazembe said the Civil registry department would be embarking on a nation-wide mobile registration exercise from  tomorrow up to September 30, 2022.

“We cannot talk about e-passports without mentioning the initial source documents used in the processing of passports which are birth certificates and national identity documents. According to the constitution of Zimbabwe amendment 20 Act 2013 every person has a right  to legal identity,” he said.

The Acting Registrar General Henry Machiri said 26,395 e-passports have been issued since January 18. Of these, females constituted the bulk (13886) and 12 509 were issued to males.