The government has defended the temporary detention of asylum seekers and immigration detainees in correctional facilities, saying Zimbabwe currently lacks alternative secure holding centres.
Justice, Legal and Parliamentary Affairs Minister Ziyambi Ziyambi told Parliament that although holding such individuals in remand prisons was “not the ideal system”, authorities had limited options while plans for dedicated facilities were being developed.
He was responding to a question from Member of Parliament Agency Gumbo, who asked what policy measures were being taken to ensure that refugees, asylum seekers and immigration detainees were not held together with criminal offenders in already congested prisons.
Gumbo said Zimbabwe had obligations under the 1951 Refugee Convention and argued that administrative detainees should not be treated in the same way as convicted or accused criminals.
In response, Ziyambi said the Ministry of Home Affairs and Cultural Heritage was working on budgetary requirements to establish separate holding centres.
“Our position currently is that while the Ministry of Home Affairs and Cultural Heritage is working out the budgetary requirements and moving towards the creation of their own boarding or holding houses, we do not have any other secure place where we can keep them safely,” he said.
He added that the government was engaging Treasury to secure funding for alternative facilities.
“It is not the ideal system to be in place, but we believe that progressively, with Treasury support, the Ministry of Home Affairs and Cultural Heritage can have its own holding facilities,” Ziyambi said.
In a supplementary question, Gumbo urged the government to consider non-custodial measures, arguing that the detention of refugees and asylum seekers was administrative rather than criminal in nature.
He suggested that individuals could instead be accommodated at the Waterfalls Transit Centre or at Tongogara Refugee Camp, with support from the Commissioner for Refugees.
However, Ziyambi said individuals whose refugee status had not yet been verified could not be transferred to refugee camps before vetting processes were completed.
“We do not hold refugees in our correctional facilities,” he said. “Those individuals whose processes of vetting and status determination have not been finalised cannot be placed in refugee holding camps. We need to be fully satisfied that they are indeed refugees. This is a security measure.”
The minister also defended the detention of individuals awaiting deportation, saying authorities were concerned they could abscond if placed in less secure facilities.
“Our choices are very limited,” he said. “Under the current circumstances, correctional facilities remain the most secure option while we complete the necessary processes and execute deportation orders.”
The issue comes amid broader debate over prison congestion and Zimbabwe’s compliance with international refugee protection standards.