Fake documents by an Australian national have opened a can of worms amid reports illegal foreign nationals are being given local national identity cards and passports by the registrar’s office.
This came after an Australian national who acquired fraudulent Zimbabwean identity documents and stayed in the country under the guise that he was a Zimbabwean has been hauled before the court on allegations of fraud.
Aaron William Young (46) appeared before Harare Magistrate Learnmore Mapiye facing charges of remaining in Zimbabwe without a valid permit, fraud and using traveling documents he is not entitled to after an officer with the immigration department, Geofrey Kondo had received a tip off that he was in the country illegally.
Young was released on $100 bail and the matter was remanded to February 18. Prosecuting Peter Kachirika alleged that on December 1 last year Kondo had information to the effect that Young was staying in the country illegally after having acquired fraudulent Zimbabwean documents.
On December 11, a team comprising of police officers stationed at CID MFFU and Kondo proceeded to Young’s home where they asked for his identification documents. Young produced a Zimbabwean passport, a Zimbabwean Birth Certificate and a Zimbabwean National identity card which indicated that he was born in Karoi in 1973 under the impression that they were original and legal documents.
Out of confusion, he also produced his Australian Birth Certificate, an expired as well as a valid Australian passport which indicated that he was born in Australia in 1973.
After discovering the anomaly, the team proceeded to the Australian Embassy to try and verify and theyconfirmed that indeed Young was an Australian born citizen. On February 1 this year, Kondo and the police officer proceeded to the Registrar Generals office to verify authenticity of the documents.
The officers discovered that the Birth Certificate is fake and the National Identity card number which was issued to Young belonged to one Pauline Zimoto who was born in Karoi, suggesting foul play in the RG’s office.
