Author Archives for Bronwen Manby

Ethiopia: Ethnic federalism and its discontents

September 4, 2009 12:00 am Published by Comments Off on Ethiopia: Ethnic federalism and its discontents

The Ethiopian Peoples’ Revolutionary Democratic Front (EPRDF), led by its chairman and prime minister, Meles Zenawi, has radically reformed Ethiopia’s political system. The regime transformed the hitherto centralised state into the Federal Democratic Republic and also redefined citizenship, politics and […]


Mali: Back to the drawing board for new family code

September 1, 2009 7:34 am Published by Comments Off on Mali: Back to the drawing board for new family code

Legislators in Mali will have to try harder to win support for the next draft of their new family code after the president sent it back to parliament on 27 August for re-drafting. The current draft code recognizes only secular […]


“I don’t know where to go”: Burundian Refugees in Tanzania under Pressure to Leave

September 1, 2009 5:52 am Published by Comments Off on “I don’t know where to go”: Burundian Refugees in Tanzania under Pressure to Leave

On 8 May 2009, the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) Representative in Burundi announced at a press conference in Bujumbura, “[w]e are in the final year of repatriation.” This statement reinforced growing pressure on refugees living in Tanzania […]


Angola: O circuito obscuro de obtenção da nacionalidade angolana em Cabinda!

August 27, 2009 12:00 am Published by Comments Off on Angola: O circuito obscuro de obtenção da nacionalidade angolana em Cabinda!

Cidadãos provenientes de várias partes do continente africano, estão a fixar-se ilegalmente na Província de Cabinda, e posteriormente a adquirirem de forma obscura a nacionalidade angolana, segundo depoimentos dos próprios infractores. Para tal, recorrem as conservatórias dos Municípios do Interior, […]


Harare to review citizenship law

August 19, 2009 12:00 am Published by Comments Off on Harare to review citizenship law

HARARE Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirais office has said Zimbabwes unity government will review a controversial law used to strip hundreds of people of their citizenship and right to vote because they were once citizens of other countries or because their […]


Give Me Back My Passport, It Is My Right! (An exposition on the law concerning passport seizures in Ghana)

August 6, 2009 5:37 pm Published by Comments Off on Give Me Back My Passport, It Is My Right! (An exposition on the law concerning passport seizures in Ghana)

By Joseph Konadu INTRODUCTION The Foreign Enlistment Act, 1961 interprets a passport as including “every form of travel document issued on behalf of the Republic”. According to the Immigration Act, 2000 (ACT 573) a “passport means a valid travel document […]


Ethnicity plus nationality do not equal citizenship

July 22, 2009 12:00 am Published by Comments Off on Ethnicity plus nationality do not equal citizenship

By Muthoni Wanyeki Last Sunday, the Nation Media Group published an editorial responding to donor and civil society’s concerns about the inclusion of questions as to ethnicity in the upcoming Kenyan national census. Civil society has, in the past, urged […]


Uganda Citizenship and Immigration Control (Amendment) Act No.5 2009

July 15, 2009 12:00 am Published by Comments Off on Uganda Citizenship and Immigration Control (Amendment) Act No.5 2009

An Act to amend the Uganda Citizenship and Immigration Control Act, to provide for dual citizenship; to provide for the board to have a vote of its own; to amend the provisions of the Act relating to the loss of […]


Swazis with dual citizenship face arrest

July 7, 2009 7:26 pm Published by Comments Off on Swazis with dual citizenship face arrest

By Arthur Mordaunt LOBAMBA – Swazis who possess dual citizenship could find themselves under arrest if found out. Home Affairs Minister Chief Mgwagwa Gamedze has announced that it was illegal for Swazis to hold dual citizenship and declared that anyone […]


CRC Concluding Observations: Niger, 2009

June 18, 2009 8:47 am Published by Comments Off on CRC Concluding Observations: Niger, 2009

CRC/C/NER/CO/2 Fifty-first session CONSIDERATION OF REPORTS SUBMITTED BY STATES PARTIES UNDER ARTICLE 44 OF THE CONVENTION Concluding observations: Niger Birth registration 35. The Committee notes with satisfaction the adoption in 2007 of a new law on birth registration and a […]


CRC Concluding observations: Niger, 2009

June 18, 2009 12:00 am Published by Comments Off on CRC Concluding observations: Niger, 2009

CRC/C/NER/CO/2 Committee on the Rights of the Child Fifty-first session Consideration of Reports Submitted by States Parties Under Article 44 of the Convention Concluding observations: Niger Birth registration 35.The Committee notes with satisfaction the adoption in 2007 of a new […]