CLAIM: Passports no longer required when travelling between Zimbabwe 🇿🇼 and Botswana 🇧🇼.
SOURCE: Dr Anywhere Mutambudzi on X (formerly Twitter)
VERDICT: Misleading
Zimbabwe and Botswana have been trending following reports that the two countries have suspended the use of passports for its citizens to cross into each other’s countries.
Chief Director Strategic Communications in the Office of President and Cabinet Dr Anywhere Mutambudzi claimed on his X account that ‘Passports no longer required when travelling between Zimbabwe 🇿🇼 and Botswana 🇧🇼.’
This followed a meeting between President Emmerson Mnangagwa and his Botswana counterpart President Mokgweetsi Masisi. President Mnangagwa was in Gaborone, Botswana where he had attended the presidential roundtable at the fifth edition of the annual Kusi Ideas Festival.
The claim was picked by some popular accounts such as @joseph_kalimbwe with over 183,000 followers who posted, ‘Botswana and Zimbabwe have today removed the use of passports when citizens travel between the two nations. It means citizens will only need IDs to cross the border. Congratulations to both nations for the progressive move – borders are colonial. Next it must be South Africa !!’.
This was also picked by Hopewell Chin’ono, with over 684,000 followers, whose post read in part, ‘This deal is with immediate effect but subject to the immigration officials from both countries getting the official instruction’.
However, President Mnangagwa did not say that Zimbabweans can with immediate effect travel to Botswana without passports.
In a video shared by Dr Mutambudzi, President Mnangagwa says, ‘We have agreed that from now on we shall instruct our officials that there should be no questions of how to enter Zimbabwe or how to enter Botswana. That should be cleared’. He repeats this in another interview with journalists where he says they have agreed to ‘instruct relevant authorities’.
Despite the announcement having been made, it is clear from the President’s statement that this is not ‘with immediate effect’ nor is this in effect yet, as it is subject to the two presidents instructing the relevant officials.
There was also no announcement indicating if a Memorandum of Agreement to this effect has been signed by the two countries.
This is in contrast to when a similar agreement was struck between Botswana and Namibia. The Botswana government announced the agreement then in a press release on 20 February 2023 and that Namibia and Botswana would sign the agreement on 24 February 2023, which was subsequently done.
At the time of publishing this fact check, there had been no official announcement from the Botswana government or presidency on the suspension of passport use between Botswana and Zimbabwe.
Conclusion
The claim that ‘Passports no longer required when travelling between Zimbabwe 🇿🇼 and Botswana 🇧🇼’ is misleading. The announcement from President Mnangagwa is only to the effect that the two presidents have agreed to ‘instruct officials/relevant authorities’ but as of today, passports will still be required at the borders between Zimbabwe and Botswana until the agreement is formalised.
