Patrick Jabani
7 July 2009
THE recent adoption of Dual Citizenship into the constitution of Zambia resulted from one of the most acrimonious debates carried out by the National Constitutional Conference (NCC) so far.
At committee level, members spent 20 days discussing the Zambian citizenship and the most lengthy and protracted debate was on Article 21 on Dual Citizenship recommended by the Mung'omba Draft Constitution.
According to Article 21 clause (1), "A citizen, by birth or descent, shall not lose that citizenship by acquiring the citizenship of another country".
Article 21 clause (2) reads: "A citizen, by birth or descent, and who, before the commencement of this Constitution, acquired the citizenship of another country and as a result ceased to be a Zambian citizen shall be entitled to apply to the Citizenship Board to regain that citizenship."
The Citizenship Committee had to consult experts, including the former chief justice Mathew Ngulube, the Citizenship Board, the Immigration Department and the Commission for Refugees.
The committee also received representations from Zambians living in the Diaspora, especially those living in Europe, North America, Australia and other parts of Africa.
Despite this widespread consultation, the Citizenship Committee's debate on Dual Citizenship continued to be heated and passionate resulting in numerous deadlocks.
At one time the committee approved the Dual Citizenship and this was widely covered by the media. However, on second review, those opposing this provision managed to persuade the committee to drop the Article.
When reporting to the NCC plenary session for final decision, Citizenship Committee chairperson, Peter Machungwa told delegates that the debate on Dual Citizenship was extremely heated and that at one time the committee after a lengthy consideration resolved to accept the Mung'omba draft article that dual citizenship be allowed.
"However, this matter was later reopened and after a long debate which was almost acrimonious at times, it was decided to reject Dual Citizenship," Dr Machungwa said.
When trying to make a final decision on this issue, the plenary session revived discussion on Dual Citizenship and this elicited an even more acrimonious debate among members with most of them competing to make their views known.
Despite pressure on the allotted time, NCC chairperson Chifumu Banda allowed as many members as possible to make their contributions.
Those against Dual Citizenship said it resulted in divided loyalty and reduced patriotism.
They also believed that holding two passports would encourage criminal behaviour and the easier escape of those who actually perpetrated crime.
They said those who favoured Dual Citizenship were double-minded and unstable people. They were also of the opinion that Dual Citizenship encouraged brain-drain from Zambia as it would facilitate an exodus of people seeking greener pastures abroad.
Some of those who opposed Dual Citizenship said it was impossible to pay equal alligency to two countries and that the phenomenon cheapened the citizenship of Zambia.
They observed that only those with children or relatives abroad were interested in Dual Citizenship and that this reflected the selfishness in them. They said such people were too few to be considered in the Constitution.
However, those who supported Dual Citizenship appeared to be overwhelmingly many and demanded that Zambians by birth or descent should not be deprived of their citizenship even if they acquired citizenships of other countries. They believed that the heritage of such Zambians should be protected.
They said that under international law, no one had the authority to take away the citizenship which was by descent or birth. They said no one could erase some one's origin and heritage.
"Your son will always be your son, whether he settles in another country, just like your brother abroad will continue to be your brother," one of the members said.
Another member said a Zambian scientist at a nuclear plant in South Africa could not find a job in Zambia but should not be deprived of his Zambian citizenship just because his host country had offered him citizenship.
They believed that patriotism could not be linked to citizenship as there existed many unpatriotic and disloyal bona fide Zambian citizens.
The proponents of Dual Citizenship noted that the world had now shrunk to a global village and that the modern trends were to encourage dual citizenship.
They said that Zambia was not an island as she belonged to regional bodies such as SADC and COMESA which encouraged regional integration.
They observed that the general guiding principles were premised on free movement of people, goods, services, technologies and human capital.
They said professional labour was now internationalised and that this was already leading to adoption of experience, knowledge and skills of the trained labour force on the international scene.
One proponent said the benefits of Dual Citizenship to the country's wealth quoting United Nations statistics of 2006 which disclosed that U$20 billion was remitted by Africans to the continent and of this, $5 billion was by Nigerians, $1.5 billion by South Africans and $1.3 billion by Angolans.
He said Dual Citizenship did not only increase opportunities for an expanded resource envelope for the country but also for individuals.
He said that there was evidence of Zambians who had returned home to invest while many more supported their families who remained in Zambia.
After a thorough debate, a consensus was reached to adopt the Dual Citizenship into the Zambian Constitution.
Apart from adopting the article on Dual Citizenship, the plenary also adopted articles regarding citizenship by descent, registration and adoption as well as the one on the general acquisition of the Zambian citizenship.
Other articles adopted included those on the renunciation of citizenship, establishment of the Citizenship Board as well as those regarding the entitlement, legislation and responsibilities of citizens.
Article 17 states that every person born in Zambia is a citizen by birth if, at the date of that person's birth, at least one parent of that person is or was a citizen while Article 18 says every person born outside Zambia is a citizen by descent if, at the date of that person's birth, at least one parent of that person is or was a Zambian.
Also adopted was Article 19 (1) which states that a person may apply to the Citizenship Board of Zambia to be registered as a citizen if that person was born in Zambia but neither of the person's parents is or was a citizen.
Article 19 (2) reads that a person may apply to the Citizenship Board of Zambia to be registered as a citizen, if that person was born in or outside Zambia and has a grandparent who is or was a citizen.
Article 19 (3) says a person may apply to be registered as a citizen if that person has:
(a) Attained the age of 21 years; and
(b) Been ordinarily resident in the Republic for a continuous period of not less than 15 years immediately preceding that person's application for registration.
Article 19 (4) states that a person who applies to be a citizen whose application is successful shall:
(a) In case of clause (1) renounce the citizenship of any other country on attaining the age of 21 years; or
(b) In the case of clauses (2) and (3), renounce the citizenship of any other country within a period of not more than three months from the date of approval of the application;
(c) And upon such renunciation, the Citizenship Board shall register that person as a citizen by registration.
Article 19 (5) reads that a child of a diplomat accredited to Zambia or a person with refugee status in Zambia shall not be registered as a citizen.
In all, 14 Articles have been adopted on citizenship and will be included in the Zambian Constitution.
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