Zimbabwe arrests 'gay man' who claimed UK asylum

Zimbabwe arrests 'gay man' who claimed UK asylum

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By Staff Reporter

A 27-YEAR-OLD Zimbabwean man, who says he was granted asylum in Britain by claiming to be a homosexual, has been arrested for allegedly entering Zimbabwe illegally, state radio reported Saturday.

The Zimbabwe government takes a hardline against homosexuality. President Robert Mugabe once referred to homosexuals as "worse than pigs and dogs".

But the radio reported that the man had "lied that he was gay in order to live and work in England legally."

It said Samson Chifamba, who now travels on a British passport, had appeared in a Zimbabwean court over the alleged immigration offence.

"He is being charged with contravening the Immigration Act, meaning that he should have presented himself to an immigration officer on entry into the country," the radio report said.

The report did not say how Chifamba had entered the country.

Chifamba is reported to have told the state broadcaster that "thousands" of Zimbabweans had entered Britain in recent years by falsely claiming to be homosexuals, or persecuted members of the opposition.

He was not asked to plead when he appeared before a Zimbabwean magistrate, and was remanded in custody to May 10, the report said.

An estimated one million Zimbabweans are believed to be living and working in former colonial power Britain, many of them illegally. Another two million Zimbabweans are reported to have left in search of jobs in economically powerful neighbour South Africa. - Sapa-DPA
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