Kenya: Woman of British descent sues state for denying her citizenship
Published: 5/Oct/2017
Source: The Star (Nairobi)
By ANNETTE WAMBULWA
A 26-year-old woman of British descent has moved to court to have the government compelled to grant her Kenyan citizenship. Virdi Gurveen says she is a Kenyan by birth, but has been denied a national identity card without any justification. She says she has unsuccessfully tried to get an ID for the last 8 years.
Gurveen has sued the Principal Registrar of Persons, the Ministry of Immigration and the Attorney General. She says the Principal Registrar of Persons has refused, without any justification, to register and issue her with a valid national ID.
The Constitution says “a person is a citizen by birth if on the day of the person’s birth, whether or not the person is born in Kenya, either the mother or father of the person is a citizen.”
Gurveen says her father was British, but her mother was a Kenyan by birth. The father later renounced his British citizenship and became a Kenyan by registration in 1996, she adds.