Refugees and national security in Zimbabwe : emerging issues arising from receiving Africa’s Great Lakes Region (GLR) refugees in Zimbabwe/ created by Besearch Beloved Matseketsa

The refugee phenomenon has become an international issue prompting academic and professional debate as to the safety of the host states. In the case of Africa and Zimbabwe, in particular, this leads to a national security question regarding the security repercussions as a result of hosting refugees given the evolving non-traditional threats (NTTs) that engulfed the refugee phenomenon post millennium and the advent of Information Communication Technology (ICT). This article applies the Social Networking Theory (SNT) to establish the level of interconnectedness of asylum seekers and refugees from Africa's Great Lakes Region (AGLR) to NTTs which are detrimental to the modern state. Examples of NTTs are, but not limited to, human trafficking, illicit drug trafficking, money laundering, tribal and ethnic orientation, mineral prospecting, gun running and spreading communicable diseases. Findings show that hosting refugees in Zimbabwe is a national security issue with far reaching consequences if a security approach is not adhered to. The results contained herein are microcosmic of security issues that are inherent in other African countries that host refugees and asylum seekers from AGLR.