ASHENEWS reports that popular Nigerian investigative journalist, David Hundeyin, has been arrested and detained at the Harare International Airport, in Zimbabwe.
Hundeyin made this announcement via his verified Twitter handle @DavidHundeyin on Wednesday night.
He said the officials detained him for entering the country without a visa.
Read his tweet below:
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 was processed for removal from their country and locked in a tiny room, but I have heard nothing from anyone for several hours.
Alongside a lady from Uganda (also a visa-free country), I have been locked in a room with no windows or toilet, plus a bottle of pee on the floor.
No one appears to be in charge of anything, and even though my return flight to Addis has been rescheduled for tonight, I am still locked in this room, and I risk missing my flight.
They appear to have forgotten that they have people in detention here.
I am ready to hop on my flight and never come back to Zimbabwe for the rest of my life.
Please, someone out there who is actually in charge of something should let me go so I can be on my merry way. I’m not interested in visiting Zimbabwe anymore.
I want to go home. Please.
I wasn’t aware that it is standard operating procedure in Zimbabwe for the country’s minister of information to tweet the asylum status of a foreigner, but since you’ve resorted to telling half truths, perhaps you should mention to your audience that I came into Zimbabwe with this valid Ghanaian refugee passport, which I have used to travel extensively over the world for 2 years.
I’m sure you saw the valid UK Visa inside it. I’m also sure that you saw the numerous entry and exit stamps inside it belonging to multiple jurisdictions inside and outside Africa. Only in Zimbabwe have I EVER had an issue travelling with this document.
You might also want to share with your audience that I put a call through to the Zimbabwean embassy in Accra before I travelled to confirm that I did not need a visa, and that J was expressly advised that as long as the airline was happy to recognise the travel document, I would have no problem coming into Zimbabwe visa-free.
I know this despicable Twitter stunt of yours does not represent the behaviour of the generality of Zimbabweans, many of whom I have had as dear friends since university 15 years ago, so I will not hold it against Zimbabwe. From experience, I know that it is possible for a great country to be held captive by a criminal political elite who lack legitimacy.
Whatever you thought you achieved by doing this, I assure you that you should have completed the job yesterday because you will not like what happens next.
