Malawi offering dual citizenship to its Zimbabwe-based people

The lives of thousands of Malawian-born people in Zimbabwe are about to change forever. The Malawian Embassy has started helping them become citizens of both countries, ending years of struggle for many who couldn’t get proper papers.

Rita Kasichi’s story shows just how much this means. At 59, born in Zimbabwe’s Mhangura in 1965, she’s spent her whole life unable to visit her family in Malawi. “Being declared stateless was the most difficult period of my life because I could not acquire a national identity document, get formal employment, or even open a bank account,” Rita says. She had to sell things on the street just to feed her two children.

Right now, Malawian officials are sitting at a church in Bulawayo’s Nguboyenja area, helping people sign up. They’re working with UN refugee workers and doing the same thing in Gweru, Gwanda, and Harare.

Back in 2014, Rita had to make a tough choice. She gave up her Malawian citizenship to get a Zimbabwean ID, but they still called her an “alien.” Now she’s excited about finally meeting her family in Kasungu District.

Her brother Enock shares her joy. “Our father used to tell us stories about life in Kasungu, but we never had the chance to visit our motherland,” he says. He wants his kids to get Malawian passports too, so they can know their family roots.

Sebastian Golody Lichapa from the Malawian Embassy explains who can get dual citizenship: anyone born outside Malawi after July 5, 1964, who has at least one Malawian parent. “Half of the Malawian population in Zimbabwe has Zimbabwean passports, and our government thought it wise to give them dual citizenship,” he says.

People need to prove their Malawian background with things like old passports, marriage certificates, or ID cards. The embassy says lots of people are coming to sign up, and they want more to come forward.

This change means everything to folks like Rita and Enock. After years of feeling stuck between two countries, they can finally say they belong to both. Rita can’t stop smiling when she talks about her first trip to Malawi. She’s already called her family there to tell them she’s coming soon.

For thousands of others like them, these new rules open doors that were shut for decades. Now they can travel freely between Zimbabwe and Malawi, work legally in both places, and keep their family ties strong. It’s bigger than just getting two passports – it’s about finally feeling whole, about connecting with family, and about having a place to call home in both countries.

The embassy keeps registering more people every day. After years of living in the shadows, these Zimbabweans with Malawian roots can finally stand tall and proud of who they are. They don’t have to choose between two parts of themselves anymore – they can be both Zimbabwean and Malawian, just as they’ve always felt in their hearts.