Nigerian in court over 5-year forgeries to obtain spousal visa in Zimbabwe

By Ntuthuko Zinondo, ZimLive – A 52-year-old Nigerian man allegedly forged papers over several years to trick Zimbabwe’s immigration department to issue him temporary permits to stay in the country while claiming that he was married to a local woman.

Kelechi Godwin was released on US$400 bail by a Bulawayo court on Tuesday after he was arraigned on four counts of fraud related to false documents and declarations in his application for spousal resident permits over a span of five years.

The accusations stemmed from various incidences perpetrated between the years 2009 and 2014, all involving the Bulawayo Immigration Office.

Prosecutors accuse Godwin of willfully misrepresenting material facts on both counts in an attempt to obtain Zimbabwean residency.

On the first count, the court heard that on September 16, 2009, Godwin applied for a Spousal Resident Permit at the Department of Immigration. He allegedly tendered a forged supporting letter, purporting that it was from his Zimbabwean wife.

Investigations later revealed that Godwin is indeed married to a woman who lives in the United Kingdom, and together they have two children.

Godwin repeated the same trick on March 11, 2013, with another bogus spousal letter to immigration officials at the same office in an attempt to obtain a new permit.

He would do it again with fake documents on January 18, 2014, the prosecution says.

Immigration officials visited Godwin at his home in an unannounced visit to verify his claims, the court heard. He showed the officials an unknown woman claiming her to be his wife. He also pointed out that the two had no children together.

It was, however, discovered that his real wife lives in the United Kingdom and that the two had twins who were born on October 17, 2011.

The National Prosecuting Authority argues that these falsehoods directly impacted the Immigration Department's decision to approve his application for a permit. The falsehoods "caused prejudice to the good administration and reputation of the department."

In granting bail, magistrate Shepherd Munjanja imposed strict conditions, ordering Godwin to stay at the address he provided to the court. He was also ordered to report twice a week—on Mondays and Fridays—to Bulawayo Central Police Station between 6AM and 5PM.

The magistrate indicated that failure to meet the reporting conditions or any attempt to interfere with investigations would result in the cancellation of bail.