Stephen Chan, a British professor, has been deported from Zimbabwe on the eve of that country’s elections.
Chan, a professor of World Politics at the School of Oriental and African Studies at the University of London, was deported from Zimbabwe when he arrived in Harare over the weekend. He had travelled from Zambia.
On the social media site, X (formerly Twitter) Chan said that he had come to Zambia and Zimbabwe to give free karate lessons, something which he did annually. However, he said that he could only travel when it was university holidays and these holidays coincided with the Zimbabwean election. He also said that since Zimbabwean independence, he had only missed two Zimbabwean elections.
Zimbabwean officials said they refused him entry because they were not happy with his explanation about teaching karate. However, Chan claimed that he had not been asked about teaching the martial art and had simply been refused entry to the country.
The Herald, a state-owned newspaper said that Chan had come to Zimbabwe as ‘part of a broader plan by the opposition to trigger mayhem if the poll results are not in their favour’.
A number of foreign journalists and observers have been deported from Zimbabwe in recent days, including South African Chris Maroleng, the CEO of the Johannesburg-headquartered Good Governance Africa, along with three of his colleagues.