allAfrica.com: Zimbabwe: Citizenship Law to Prejudice Many of Voters (Page 1 of 2)

WITH only four months to go before the 2008 elections there are fears that thousands of people rendered stateless following the enactment of the Citizenship of Zimbabwe Amendment Act No 12 of 2001, could again fail to vote as they are still to have their Zimbabwean citizenship restored, it has emerged.

Perceived aliens from neighbouring Sadc countries like Mozambique, Malawi and Zambia, including their off-spring born and bred in Zimbabwe, some of whom have never been to their forefathers' original countries, were all rendered stateless in 2001.

Some have since renounced their alleged foreign citizenship and others are doing so in the current voter registration mop-up exercise.

However, it has emerged that a large number could fail to do so as they do not have the required long birth certificates due to migration and death of parents and guardians.

Others have sought legal advice on the issue.

Irene Petras, the Zimbabwe Lawyers for Human Rights director whose organisation submitted evidence on the issue to the Parliamentary Portfolio Committee on Defence and Home Affairs earlier this year, confirmed in a statement that her organisation was representing affected alien farm workers.

She said her organisation had been vindicated by the findings and recommendations of the committee on the Citizenship of Zimbabwe Act as it supported its interpretation of the Act and the Government Notice which sets out the legal position which it has successfully argued in court on behalf of innumerable victims of the Registrar-General's misapplication of the law.

" We regret however that, despite the recommendations of the committee, the Registrar General has nevertheless continued to apply his own blatantly wrong interpretation to deny Zimbabweans their rightful citizenship in contravention of our national law as well as international human rights standards which protect against an individual being rendered stateless

"We continue to be consulted by farm workers and other individuals who have wrongly been advised that they have forfeited their Zimbabwean citizenship despite not holding any other citizenship," said Petras in a statement.

She said this was a matter of concern as the nation approached the 2008 elections, as many people were likely to be denied their right to register as voters and exercise their fundamental right to choose their representatives or run for political office

"This can only suggest that the Registrar General, as the person responsible (incorrectly, in our view) for drawing up the voters' roll and registering voters, has ulterior motives as, instead of scrupulously implementing the recommendations of the committee to abide by the rulings and interpretations of the courts and cabinet and undertake "a vigorous nationwide campaign" on the Citizenship Act, he continues through his actions to defy the legislature, just as he has done and continues to do with orders of court, evidencing a clear lack of respect for the rule of law. This must end as a matter of urgency," she said.

Local Government minister Ignatious Chombo was in May quoted as saying in the Herald that all aliens born in Zimbabwe should register to vote, adding that plans to issue them with identity documents were at an advanced stage

He said a meeting was being held with the RG's office "to iron out grey areas".

However, despite the court rulings, the Registrar-General still requires aliens' children to renounce their alleged foreign citizenship and the process has not been smooth as some have no long birth certificates because their parents and guardians either passed away or returned to their original countries.

The citizenship saga dates back to 1983 when government amended the Constitution to do away with dual citizenship which was allowed at Independence in 1980.

According to a Zimbabwe Election Support Network report, the Constitution then provided for dual citizenship.

In 1983 the government amended the Constitution so as to remove the guarantee of dual citizenship by amending the Citizenship of Zimbabwe Act (now Chapter 4:01).

Dual citizens had to surrender their foreign passports and sign a form renouncing their foreign citizenship.

The renunciation had no effect in foreign law, but it satisfied the government until 2001, when the Citizenship of Zimbabwe Act was amended again for dual citizens to renounce their foreign citizenship within six months, failing which they would cease to be Zimbabwean citizens.

This time the renunciation had to be valid in terms of the foreign law concerned.

The initial abolition of dual citizenship was almost certainly aimed at the whites, but ended up affecting those whose parents migrated from neighbouring countries.

web allafrica.com	Enter your search terms	Submit search form
OR subscribers use AllAfrica's premium search engine


Use our pull-down menus to find more stories

Today's Most Active Stories