Botswana: Ministry to Investigate Matshelagabedi

Francistown — The Minister of Nationality, Immigration and Gender Affairs, Mr Ngaka Ngaka, has resolved to send officers to Matshelagabedi to investigate a citizenship issue affecting some residents.

This was after it emerged during a kgotla meeting he addressed in the village recently that some residents did not have Omang because they had dual citizenship.

The minister said it was clear that most people residing along the border such as those of Matshelagabedi had not renounced citizenship of other countries.

However, he said those who were resident in Botswana before independence were not required to apply for citizenship because they were considered Batswana.

Mr Ngaka did the same in Etsha 6 exercise in the Okavango Sub-district because most of the residents were from Angola, while those of Matshelagabedi were from Zimbabwe.

On other issues, Minister Ngaka explained that it was not a guarantee that if a person had stayed in Botswana for the stipulated period, they would automatically get citizenship, adding that such people were required to have a residence permit before applying for a Botswana citizenship.

He said the Citizenship Act requires that a person residing in Botswana should have a residence permit for a period of five years and thereafter one could be given a second permit for another five years upon request.

The minister said such a person would therefore be eligible to apply for a citizenship.

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