A British parliamentarian, Kate Hoey, has reportedly condemned the UK over Zimbabwean Pastor Evan Mawarire’s visa refusal recently.
The exiled cleric was denied entry into the United Kingdom a week ago after he failed to secure travel documents.
According to reports, officials told him that his visa had been refused just hours before he was due to board a flight to London.
Hoey, who is the chairperson of the All Party Parliamentary Group on Zimbabwe, said it was “disgraceful” that “prominent Zimbabwean civil rights activists were refused visas to visit the UK to talk about the struggle against President Robert Mugabe and his Zanu-PF regime”, according to a New Zimbabwe report said.
She claimed that members of Zanu-PF had been allowed to visit the UK, while “seasoned campaigners” were being turned away.
Mawarire became an instant hero after he organised Zimbabwe’s biggest shutdown protest in nearly a decade through a social media campaign in recent months.
His #ThisFlag campaign against economic stagnation and corruption concerns earned him criticism from Mugabe.
Mawarire’s first #ThiFlag video was posted in April.
He ranted about how the Zimbabwe flag’s colours had lost significance because of alleged political mismanagement.
The video attracted over 120 000 views on the day it was posted.
