Zimbabwe's envoy to Australia Jacqueline Zwambila asks for protection visa, citing safety fears

Updated

Zimbabwe's ambassador to Australia has asked for political asylum, lashing out at her country's "illegitimate" government and voicing fears for her safety if she returns home next week.

Jacqueline Zwambila was appointed to Australia to renew ties between the two countries after a unity government was formed in Zimbabwe in 2009.

She has walked away from her post and moved out of her official residence with only four days remaining in her tenure, in order to seek asylum.

Ms Zwambila, who is aligned with Zimbabwe's opposition Movement for Democratic Change (MDC), criticised the regime of president Robert Mugabe in explaining her decision.

"Once the elections of 31 July were stolen by the current government - which is illegitimate - I knew that this was the end of the line," she said.

"[It is the] end of the line for the people of Zimbabwe ... and for people like me, who were appointed by the ex-prime minister Morgan Tsvangirai."

She says that when she learned about Mr Mugabe's victory, she saw "doom, a black cloud".

"I knew then it was the end of my term," she said.

Ms Zwambila described her time in the embassy as akin to being in prison.

"It was not an easy time for me in that embassy. In fact, I have been in a prison... because I was appointed under the inclusive government," she said.

Australian Government 'will do what is right'

Ms Zwambila says she is seeking a protection visa from Australia so she can stay on in the country along with her family once her diplomatic status expires.

She has voiced fears of indefinite detention if she returns home, saying she had been threatened with arrest in Zimbabwe after a court found that she owed several hundred dollars to a tradesman. She denies the charge.

"So many things have been done to me since I've been here in Australia, the smear campaigns and threats... There is no way I feel safe being in Zimbabwe or going back to Zimbabwe," Ms Zwambila said.

The ambassador also says she hopes her actions do not have negative consequences at home.

"That the people of Zimbabwe do not get punished, because they are the ones who suffer," she said.

A spokesman for the Minister for Immigration and Border Protection, Scott Morrison, says if an application for a protection visa is received, it will be assessed according to the normal rules.

Prime Minister Tony Abbott's office says it is looking into the matter.

Greens Senator Sarah Hanson-Young says any request for a protection visa should be processed urgently.

"We have an ambassador of Zimbabwe saying that she cannot go home because her life is at risk," she said.

"This isn't a situation where Tony Abbott can just sit on his hands. The Government needs to act swiftly, and it needs to act now."

However, Ms Zwambila struck a more diplomatic tone, saying: "I am sure the Australian Government will do what is right."

Mr Tsvangirai had shared power with Mugabe until the July elections, with his MDC party controlling the finance ministry after they forged a unity government in 2009 following violent disputed polls.

But the shaky power-sharing deal ended when the veteran president won the July 31 polls with 61 per cent against his rival's 34 per cent.

Mr Tsvangirai described the vote as "fraudulent", citing an unusual number of voters had been turned away in urban constituencies that are considered opposition strongholds.

Australia, which had offered reduced sanctions as an incentive for free and fair elections, joined the United States and Britain in questioning the credibility of the polls and called for a re-run.

But the 89-year-old veteran leader dismissed the view, with Mr Mugabe brusquely telling his opponents to accept defeat.

ABC/AFP

Topics: foreign-affairs, world-politics, government-and-politics, federal-government, australia, zimbabwe, act, canberra-2600

First posted