ANYONE ELSE GET THIS DUMBASS LETER FROM THE ZIM GOVT? they want me to take a rifle I no longer own to customs and get a letter proving I left the country with my rifle almost 3 years ago anyone know what this is about?

I also got that little surprise.
I will send them a copy of a stamped RSA permit of the rifle used a couple year later.

Mine arrived last Friday wanting to know why I left my rifles in Zim in 2012. Took the same rifles in 2013 So I must have taken them home with me in 2012. Hahaha!

There was a form to fill out and have signed by either two customs officials or two police officers. That was easy. Sent it back yesterday. Made copies.

I am very curious to know what is going to happen next trip and find that I am on some list. Pay a fine?

so which one of you guys were taking pot shots at uncle bob

What does the letter state for failing to provide proof back? Some people do actually sell\trade firearms and they may not have them any more. Curious what the gov thinks they can do if nonresponsive?

Call me a suspicious or even perhaps paranoid bastard if you like but I smell a rat & would guess there's more to this than the Zim Governmunt simply caring that one of their staff somewhere has simply mislaid some paperwork......... & sincerely hope no-one has been silly enough to leave a rifle or even a round of ammo behind when they left.

My advice would be VERY careful about what you post on a public forum & to consult either a lawyer or your hunting association before you say or do too much & remember Big Brother may & probably is watching.

I got one too.

Joe,

E-mail the letter to me and I'll see if I can get the Zim PH's to look into it for us.

Mark

Letter or email? Next they will want to enquire about your financial transactions.

I wonder if only American hunters are receiving these letters or if hunters from other countries are also getting them?

I'd suspect it's being done at the behest of another Govt - probably the US Govt.

ADDED

I've just noticed Oz got one as well....... in which case, I'd suspect other Governments rather than other Government are probably involved.

quote:

Originally posted by shakari:
Call me a suspicious or even perhaps paranoid bastard if you like but I smell a rat & would guess there's more to this than the Zim Governmunt simply caring that one of their staff somewhere has simply mislaid some paperwork......... & sincerely hope no-one has been silly enough to leave a rifle or even a round of ammo behind when they left.

My advice would be VERY careful about what you post on a public forum & to consult either a lawyer or your hunting association before you say or do too much & remember Big Brother may & probably is watching.

What if this is a shakedown and when I arrive this year get detained. How would a lawyer here in the states help me? Would I not need a lawyer who is local to Zim?

I can't see this being the case. If the Zim Govt started shaking down hunters, it would cause a lot of hunters to rethink planning a trip to that country.

Muletrain,

Mate, I can't advise you on that (which is why I suggested a lawyer etc) but do think there's more to this than first meets the eye....... my guess is it's something to do with the UN firearms proposals/control that crops up from time to time..... & yes. I agree. It could well cause hunters to reconsider their options.

I just can't see the Zim Governmunt doing this off their own bat though...... if nothing else, they don't stand to gain anything except a postage bill.

quote:

Originally posted by shakari:
Muletrain,

Mate, I can't advise you on that (which is why I suggested a lawyer etc) but do think there's more to this than first meets the eye....... my guess is it's something to do with the UN firearms proposals/control that crops up from time to time..... & yes. I agree. It could well cause hunters to reconsider their options.

I just can't see the Zim Governmunt doing this off their own bat though...... if nothing else, they don't stand to gain anything except a postage bill.

And since when has that despicable criminal Uncle Bob done anything desirable??

Saeed

I agree but why would the obnoxious bastard do something like this off of his own bat?

No. I reckon there's more to this than meets the eye.

I am Canadian and hunted Zim in 2010. I have not received any such letter yet....

I'm betting that they were matching up gun permits and found that the information that was supposed to be entered by the police when you left the country was incomplete.

So now they are asking for verification to make sure that the guns weren't left in country.

Same issue with me for two different years.

Flew in to one airport and flew out of another both times.

The years I flew in and out of the same airport were not questioned.

Mine was actually sent through the operator I hunted with in Zim several months ago. I responded and have heard nothing further.

quote:

Originally posted by Mike70560:
Same issue with me for two different years.

Flew in to one airport and flew out of another both times.

The years I flew in and out of the same airport were not questioned.

Mine was actually sent through the operator I hunted with in Zim several months ago. I responded and have heard nothing further.

This idea has merit.
For the year they are asking me about I flew onto Bulawayo and drove out at Beitbridge.

No doubt the paper work didn't get matched up.

Next year I flew in and out of Victoria Falls and no letter for that hunt.

"Sold that rifle months ago"......done.

quote:

Originally posted by hunteratheart:
What does the letter state for failing to provide proof back? Some people do actually sell\trade firearms and they may not have them any more. Curious what the gov thinks they can do if nonresponsive?

IT DOES MENTION SOME TAX POSSIBLY NOT COLLECTED OR SOME SUCH. not sure what they could do before I turned back up in zim but a problem I want solved from here not there on arrival either way.

I did go in through bul. and out through har.

my knee jerk reaction is f you bobbyjohn but I might just leave it. I have not decided yet.

it did cross my mind to tell them I left it with a ph I think is an asshole but that would make me worse than he is so I probably wont. but it was an amusing thought.

the really stupid part is they sent this letter in the mail to the usa, the town I live in, they got my name right but no address at all

my name
375
town I live in
usa
zip code

that's it.
only got to me cause the post master knows me in this tiny town

interesting phone call from post office " hey got this letter from Africa your name on it no address you want it or send it back ?"
kinda wishing I had sent it back.

Hey Crusher, been a long time!

Hell man, seal it back up, mark it:
"opened by mistake, wrong address"
and send it back. Got a laugh out of
that too, thanks.
Wish you well,
George

Dear All
I am the current Zimbabwe Professional hunters and guides association chairman and I can shed some light on this. I had been asked in my personal capacity to come to the Bulawayo airport and shed some light on some of my clients firearms details. I was handed a small list of names of clients dating back to 2010!! It appears that these clients, upon leaving Zim, had not returned the firearms temporary import permit. What has happened in our case, most of these clients came into Zim at one port of entry and left at another. I'm sure some permits were not filed correctly and now it would appear that the firearm is still in Zimbabwe or just simply lost. I do ask that all of you, not be alarmed over this. In the meeting I personally had over my issues, the Customs guys have been very pleasant and rather embarrassed over these filing issues. It appears that Bulawayo has been more affected than other airports but if any of you came into another airport, please let me know. Further, Customs have asked the operators to attend a workshop with customs to try come up with a way forward to not have this problem in the future. I am in the process of dealing with this, however hunting season has already started. Please to reiterate, they have been very apologetic over this issue and I ask that you all don't take this for more than it is. Zim customs are clearly in trouble with someone for not doing their job correctly and we are assisting to resolve this issue.
I thank all of you on this forum for your continued support to our country with her many challenges.

Thanks for taking the time to come on here and enlighten us.

Continued prayers for Zim.

quote:

Originally posted by Bryce Dillabough:
I am Canadian and hunted Zim in 2010. I have not received any such letter yet....

Better not, you shouldnt make it public ... but that is not me ....

me either, but I came from Joberg to Harare and left the same way in December of 2008.

Rich

quote:

Originally posted by medved:

quote:

Originally posted by Bryce Dillabough:
I am Canadian and hunted Zim in 2010. I have not received any such letter yet....

Better not, you shouldnt make it public ... but that is not me ....

If you entered and left Zimbabwe through the same port of entry, you probably won't receive a letter.

quote:

Originally posted by Muletrain:

quote:

Originally posted by medved:

quote:

Originally posted by Bryce Dillabough:
I am Canadian and hunted Zim in 2010. I have not received any such letter yet....

Better not, you shouldnt make it public ... but that is not me ....

If you entered and left Zimbabwe through the same port of entry, you probably won't receive a letter.

legally we are not suppose ( Canadian) to bring any firearm in Zimbabwe since 2008 ....

It's all about money.
So scare the hunters, maybe they will pay more next time?
I wonder, what is the driving force behind all this?
Maybe go after white PH's
Call me paranoid, but I grew up in Communism and the amount of nonsense that comes out of Big government is amazing and scary

I did have a meeting with the officials in Bulawayo. There is still 99 firearms unaccounted for down from 250 in Bulawayo alone. The customs officials have been told that this list needs to be cleared by the Security officials. This problem is mainly due to people not doing their job correctly. Regardless it makes it look like the firearms were left in Zimbabwe. Although not our problem, I'm sure at some point the finger will be pointing at the operators. What they are asking is that those that are on the list, please send them your flight details of when you left Zimbabwe. Also they are asking that you take your firearm to the nearest police station to verify that the firearm still exists. I know this is allot to ask of you and it's not your problem, but I plead with you that you do as this would clear the operator. I am reluctant to put this list on the web, so we will try get the outfitters to contact the clients directly. I our case, they were happy with flight details only. As for the future, we will insist that all operators in Zimbabwe keep a copy of your permit on file with your departure details so we will not have to inconvenience the client

Getting ready to leave for Zim. Anyone have contact inf
o for a good lawyer over there in case I have any trouble?

quote:

Originally posted by Louis Muller:
I did have a meeting with the officials in Bulawayo. There is still 99 firearms unaccounted for down from 250 in Bulawayo alone. The customs officials have been told that this list needs to be cleared by the Security officials. This problem is mainly due to people not doing their job correctly. Regardless it makes it look like the firearms were left in Zimbabwe. Although not our problem, I'm sure at some point the finger will be pointing at the operators. What they are asking is that those that are on the list, please send them your flight details of when you left Zimbabwe. Also they are asking that you take your firearm to the nearest police station to verify that the firearm still exists. I know this is allot to ask of you and it's not your problem, but I plead with you that you do as this would clear the operator. I am reluctant to put this list on the web, so we will try get the outfitters to contact the clients directly. I our case, they were happy with flight details only. As for the future, we will insist that all operators in Zimbabwe keep a copy of your permit on file with your departure details so we will not have to inconvenience the client

what do you suggest a client do if he has sold the firearm since he returned? i could give a flying s--t less what the corrupt incompetent fools in Zim want- and i certainly wouldn't jump through a bunch of hoops to satisfy their curiosity.....THEIR STUPIDITY=THEIR PROBBLEM!

The Security organisations will probably start assuming the operator has the unlicensed gun and start harassing them

Just send them the date you left with your firearm and a flight number if possible and a description of the firearm. Or get in touch with your outfitter and ask them to take care of details. Capt. Purvis, no need to worry. Clients are requested to make 3 copies. Make a 4th and keep or give to your outfitter.

Just send them the date you left the country and tell them you sold the firearm. Just send them a description of the firearm. Capt. Purvis, please make 4 copies and hand one over to your outfitter.Do not stress over this, I can assure you it will not be a problem.

Thank you Louis for the clarification.

capt. you should be fine zim has some disorganized fucks for bureaucrats but they are generally well meaning even if officious. they don't want to jam you up you are their income.

I will just send something and be done either they like it love it live with it or send it back whatever.