Zimbabwe's celebrated female rangers refused entry to UK for awards ceremony

Two leading female rangers in Zimbabwe have been denied temporary visas to attend an awards ceremony in the UK.

In rejection letters, the Home Office suggested Nyaradzo​ Hoto and Petronella Chigumbura might attempt to stay in the country after citing the pair’s lack of financial assets, according to the BBC.

They were due to be honoured in Birmingham earlier this month at the Zimbabwe International Women Awards (Ziwa), which created an award specifically to recognise the work of the Akashinga - the pair’s rangers unit in the Lower Zambezi Valley.

It would have been Ms Hoto’s first trip on a plane and first time out of her home country.

"I wouldn't flee Zimbabwe,” Ms Hoto, who has a six-year-old daughter, told the broadcaster. “I have to look after her."

She added: "I haven't told my daughter yet. I don't want to disappoint her, she was so proud of me.”

The ranger, like many in the Akashinga, is a domestic abuse survivor and single parent who risks her life everyday protecting some 11,000 elephants in the region from ivory poachers.

The group have contributed to 77 arrests in the past year without firing a single shot.

“My former husband used to exploit me,” Ms Hoto said in a documentary about the Akashinga earlier this year.

“The marriage lifetime with him was a tough time because I just saw all my goals being shattered down. I just want to prove it, that no job is meant for men, and I hope I have already proven it.”

Damien Mander, a former Australian soldier who founded the International Anti-Poaching Foundation and trains the Akashinga rangers, said female recruits in the country tended to be far less corruptible than men.

“Long-term solutions are winning the hearts and minds of the community, and the most effective way to do that is through the women,” he said.

“Women, given the mettle, have the opportunity to change the face of conservation forever.”

Rhoda Molife, one of the founders of Ziwa and a former NHS doctor, said the awards ceremony was introduced to “change the narrative of African women”.

The organisation told the BBC it believed the women’s lack of wealth hurt their visa applications.

"It's only because of their circumstances that they are where they are, not because of what's in them, their potential," Dr Molife said.

A Home Office spokesperson told The Independent: "All UK visa applications are considered on their individual merits and in line with UK immigration rules and guidance.

"The onus is on the applicant to demonstrate that they satisfy the immigration rules. In addition to any support provided by a sponsor, decision makers will take account of an applicant’s own personal and financial circumstances in assessing whether the application meets the requirements of the Immigration Rules."