Man who claims he was sought by Zimbabwean machete gang wins challenge to refugee refusal

High Court Reporter

The High Court has overturned a refugee status refusal for a man who says he worked as a self-employed gold miner in Zimbabwe before he fled because a machete gang was looking for him.

The man went before an International Protection Appeals Tribunal (IPAT), which in 2023 refused his application for refugee/international protection status.

The IPAT said his claim lacked “general credibility”. It based this finding on what it said were inconsistencies in the detail of his claim for protection given by him at the IPAT oral hearing compared to what he had outlined at earlier stages in the immigration process.

He then brought judicial review proceedings, but due to circumstances beyond his control, the case was outside the time limit for doing so, and he had to also apply for an extension of time.

Mr Justice Garrett Simons overturned the IPAT decision, saying it was vitiated by error of law and extended time for the bringing of the case.

The judge said the man had told the International Protection Office in 2022 that he "ran away from Zimbabwe as I was being looked for by the machete gang", who accused him of sponsoring the activities of the Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) opposition party.

He said the gang also wanted 500 grams of gold from him, and he feared for his life. The gang has terrorised and killed people throughout the country, taking their possessions, but nothing has been done to them, he said.

When he ran away, they threatened his wife and children, who themselves ran away to his in-laws. Their homestead was burnt down, he said.

While he sympathised with the MDC, but did not belong to any political party as he knows the dangers associated with it. He believes the gang belongs to the ruling Zanu PF party because if you try to bring them to justice, nothing is going to be done.

He said he had worked hard through gold mining to support his family.

He said he also later told immigration in 2022 that the day he left, he got a phone call from a fellow gold miner who told him the gang were looking for him and wanted 500 grams of gold he had.

At his IPAT interview, he further stated in the days after he left Zimbabwe, he received a telephone call from a man who identified himself as a sergeant in the Zimbabwean police force and told him to present himself forthwith at a police station for questioning.

This event reinforced his suspicions of, and a belief in, a dangerous and harmful link between the gang and the state/police.

The IPAT expressed concerns over inconsistencies in “central aspects” of his claim and the introduction of “significant new claims”. It refused his appeal.

In his ruling overturning that decision, Mr Justice Simons said the IPAT failed to properly apply the principles governing the assessment of his general credibility.