It had been obvious for at least two years,  that the Country Information Report of  October 2014  no longer  reflected the up-to-date  political situation for the purposes  of considering  asylum  claims from Zimbabweans.  My  blog post,  Zimbabwean Asylum Claimants And The New Political Movement: Are The Home Office & Tribunal “Getting it?”  of 24 August 2016, summarized the position in its opening  paragraph as follows:

“There clearly is a new protest political movement emerging   in Zimbabwe  being  propelled substantially  by  social media. Where this continues  in the long term ( if not  suppressed ),  and where  claimants associated with such movements seek protection in the UK,  then   current rigid   UK  asylum country  guidance caselaw, CM (EM country guidance; disclosure) Zimbabwe CG [2013] UKUT 59 (IAC),   becomes increasingly  redundant……………. Clearly, the  guidance  in CM is  largely  inapplicable  and unsuited to claimants associated with the new movement(s)  seeking protection in the UK……The  Home Office and the Tribunal need to appreciate  that  it  is now no longer simply   just about  being a member of the  MDC and having a political  profile  associated with said party, nor just about war  veterans and militia bashing the opposition. Some new country guidance caselaw may be in order in an appropriate case if  the current Zimbabwean  regime remains in power and if  the  current movement continues”.

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