Is V.G. Chavda back in town?
-Fresh controversy erupts over current immigration status of notorious businessman deported in 1996
THISDAY REPORTER
Dar es Salaam
CONFUSION surrounds the current immigration status of controversial businessman Vidyadhar Girdharlal Chavda, who was kicked out of the country in the 1990s following his alleged involvement in massive funds misuse at the Bank of Tanzania.
The Indian national better known as V.G. Chavda was declared a prohibited immigrant (PI) and deported in 1996 after being implicated in various improprieties linked to the erstwhile debt conversion programme (DCP) - much similar to the present-day BoT external payment arrears (EPA) scandal.
Official government records show that Chavda was heavily incriminated in the course of a parliamentary probe into the allegations of widespread fraud and embezzlement of hundreds of millions of shillings under DCP auspices.
The report of the 1994 parliamentary probe team, chaired by then legislator Edward Oyombe Ayilla, recommended that Chavda should be prosecuted in court, declared persona non grata, and expelled from the country.
But according to sources familiar with the case, after his 1996 deportation V.G Chavda briefly returned to Tanzania in September 1997, and again re-entered the country in March 2002.
It is understood that the prominent businessman was allowed back into the country on the basis of his being required to testify in judicial proceedings in local courts.
However, records also show that when Chavda was initially deported, government authorities stated clearly that his physical presence would not be necessary for the court cases, and instead he could be represented by private lawyers or even his wife.
It has further been learnt that in 2003, the High Court in Dar es Salaam issued another order for Chavda to leave the country latest by March 10, 2006.
He then rushed back to court to seek an injunction to stop the Immigration department from expelling him to his home country of India.
And in 2004, the then Jaji Kiongozi Hamisi Msumi, issued a ruling that directed the Immigration department to issue Chavda with ’’the relevant immigration document which will entitle the applicant (Chavda) to legally stay in Tanzania until the cases filed against him are completed, or for an aggregate period of two years, which ever precedes the other.’’
According to Msumi’s ruling, the two-year period was supposed to end on March 11, 2006, after which Chavda would have no legal status to stay in Tanzania whether the cases against him were concluded or not.
Independent legal experts contacted by THISDAY now describe Chavda’s latest reported re-entry into the country as a clear violation of the Immigration Act of 1995, which prohibits any person declared a prohibited immigrant from being granted a permit to enter Tanzania.
Noting that the law also states that ’’entry to Tanzania by a foreigner is only possible either by the non-citizen holding a residence permit or visitor’s pass,’’ the legal experts said they were quite baffled as to how Chavda was able to return to the country despite being officially deported.
When contacted in Dar es Salaam, Immigration Services authorities could also not immediately explain the cloud of mystery surrounding Chavda’s current immigration status.
A spokesman for the department, Abdi Ijimbo, requested more time to come up with a comprehensive statement when asked by THISDAY to comment on the matter.
THISDAY REPORTER
Dar es Salaam
CONFUSION surrounds the current immigration status of controversial businessman Vidyadhar Girdharlal Chavda, who was kicked out of the country in the 1990s following his alleged involvement in massive funds misuse at the Bank of Tanzania.
The Indian national better known as V.G. Chavda was declared a prohibited immigrant (PI) and deported in 1996 after being implicated in various improprieties linked to the erstwhile debt conversion programme (DCP) - much similar to the present-day BoT external payment arrears (EPA) scandal.
Official government records show that Chavda was heavily incriminated in the course of a parliamentary probe into the allegations of widespread fraud and embezzlement of hundreds of millions of shillings under DCP auspices.
The report of the 1994 parliamentary probe team, chaired by then legislator Edward Oyombe Ayilla, recommended that Chavda should be prosecuted in court, declared persona non grata, and expelled from the country.
But according to sources familiar with the case, after his 1996 deportation V.G Chavda briefly returned to Tanzania in September 1997, and again re-entered the country in March 2002.
It is understood that the prominent businessman was allowed back into the country on the basis of his being required to testify in judicial proceedings in local courts.
However, records also show that when Chavda was initially deported, government authorities stated clearly that his physical presence would not be necessary for the court cases, and instead he could be represented by private lawyers or even his wife.
It has further been learnt that in 2003, the High Court in Dar es Salaam issued another order for Chavda to leave the country latest by March 10, 2006.
He then rushed back to court to seek an injunction to stop the Immigration department from expelling him to his home country of India.
And in 2004, the then Jaji Kiongozi Hamisi Msumi, issued a ruling that directed the Immigration department to issue Chavda with ’’the relevant immigration document which will entitle the applicant (Chavda) to legally stay in Tanzania until the cases filed against him are completed, or for an aggregate period of two years, which ever precedes the other.’’
According to Msumi’s ruling, the two-year period was supposed to end on March 11, 2006, after which Chavda would have no legal status to stay in Tanzania whether the cases against him were concluded or not.
Independent legal experts contacted by THISDAY now describe Chavda’s latest reported re-entry into the country as a clear violation of the Immigration Act of 1995, which prohibits any person declared a prohibited immigrant from being granted a permit to enter Tanzania.
Noting that the law also states that ’’entry to Tanzania by a foreigner is only possible either by the non-citizen holding a residence permit or visitor’s pass,’’ the legal experts said they were quite baffled as to how Chavda was able to return to the country despite being officially deported.
When contacted in Dar es Salaam, Immigration Services authorities could also not immediately explain the cloud of mystery surrounding Chavda’s current immigration status.
A spokesman for the department, Abdi Ijimbo, requested more time to come up with a comprehensive statement when asked by THISDAY to comment on the matter.
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