Judge rules attempt to deport Zimbabwean from the UK unlawful

LONDON – A judge has ruled that UK immigration officials acted unlawfully when they tried to deport 37-year-old Zimbabwean, Atterbell Maplanka, on the grounds that he allegedly has a passport with a picture resembling “a different person”.

Despite the judge stopping the planned deportation to Zimbabwe of Maplanka, Nehanda Radio understands he was still locked up at the Colnbrook Immigration Removal Centre near Heathrow Airport.

Veteran broadcaster Ezra Tshisa Sibanda was furious at the treatment his friend is receiving saying; “the UK Border morons have been told that they acted unlawful in detaining and trying to remove him. At the moment they are still holding him illegally near Heathrow Airport because they are just arrogant.

“We have no choice but to go back to the courts and fight for him to be released since these trigger happy arrogant cowards are not doing the right thing.

“We will continue to expose and embarrass the UK Border Force for incompetence and lack of professionalism clearly soiling the British government’s name.

“These imbeciles are using Maplanka as human “flypaper” with his illegal detention trying to make themselves as “doing a great job in policing UK Borders”.

In an interview with Nehanda Radio on Sunday, Maplanka says he travelled to Zimbabwe two weeks ago after his mother passed away.

On his way back he was detained at Heathrow Airport last week on Wednesday. He travelled with two passports because the expired one has the stamp reflecting his indefinite leave to remain.

“I went to attend my mothers’ funeral. When I came back they detained me at Heathrow Terminal 2 and said I don’t look like the person in the passport, basically. I was granted indefinite leave to remain in 2003 on my old passport.

“That passport has since expired so I applied for a new passport. I did contact immigration and they said that’s not a problem, you can either transfer your visa to your new passport or you can travel with both passports. Since they told me that I have travelled four or five times, and I have never had an issue.”

Maplanka well know for his entertainment programme ‘Mzansi Jams’, lives in Eastbourne and has four children, two from his first wife, who all have British passports and two children with his new wife, one child has indefinite leave to remain. He has sisters and nieces in the UK who have all become British citizens.