Author Archives for Bronwen Manby

South Africa: High court orders Department of Home Affairs to register birth of stateless man after 10-year battle

March 1, 2023 8:07 pm Published by Comments Off on South Africa: High court orders Department of Home Affairs to register birth of stateless man after 10-year battle

By Tamsin Metelerkamp The Department of Home Affairs has been given 30 days to register the birth of Tebogo Khoza, a stateless man born in South Africa. The Pretoria high court found that since Khoza first attempted to have his […]


Kenya: Interior Ministry Begins Registration of 5,000 Pemba Community Member After Ruto Directive

March 1, 2023 7:18 pm Published by Comments Off on Kenya: Interior Ministry Begins Registration of 5,000 Pemba Community Member After Ruto Directive

By Kioko Nyamasyo The Kenyan government will finally recognise the Pemba Community as citizens thanks to President William Ruto’s intervention. This is after national registration exercise of the community kicked off in Kilifi County on Wednesday, February 1. The exercise […]


Kenya Huduma Namba funding almost entirely cut as UPI, digital birth registration begins

March 1, 2023 4:56 pm Published by Comments Off on Kenya Huduma Namba funding almost entirely cut as UPI, digital birth registration begins

By Frank Hersey The identity landscape in Kenya continues to shift as birth registration goes digital on 1 March and funding for Huduma Namba, the national biometric ID card, is cut dramatically. The National Integrated Identity Management System (NIIMS), generally known as […]


Ghana: Voter Registration: 1992 Constitution requires evidence of citizenship, not proof of identification – Minority

March 1, 2023 3:37 pm Published by Comments Off on Ghana: Voter Registration: 1992 Constitution requires evidence of citizenship, not proof of identification – Minority

By Eric Nana Yaw Kwafo The Minority in Parliament has made a strong argument why it is against the decision by the Electoral Commission (NDC) to rely on only the Ghana Card for voter registration. In a new Constitutional Instrument […]


Ghana holds citizenship ceremony for two Tulsa Race Massacre Survivors

March 1, 2023 3:09 pm Published by Comments Off on Ghana holds citizenship ceremony for two Tulsa Race Massacre Survivors

The Ghana Tourism Authority (GTA) and the Ministry of Tourism, Arts and Culture (MOTAC), have held a Ghanaian Citizenship ceremony for two of the three last-known living survivors of the Tulsa Race Massacre. The two, 108-year-old Viola Fletcher, and her […]


Kenya: Govt Kicks Off Citizenship Registration For Pemba Community

March 1, 2023 1:55 pm Published by Comments Off on Kenya: Govt Kicks Off Citizenship Registration For Pemba Community

NAIROBI, Kenya, Mar 1 — The government has commenced the registration of over 5,000 members of the Pemba Community ahead of conferment of Kenyan citizenship following President William Ruto’s directive. Speaking in Kilifi County on Wednesday, Immigration and Citizen Services […]


Home Affairs urged to ensure indigent South Africans get free DNA tests to prove citizenship

February 28, 2023 7:50 pm Published by Comments Off on Home Affairs urged to ensure indigent South Africans get free DNA tests to prove citizenship

By Molemo Mothoa Home Affairs has again been urged to ensure that the National Health Laboratory Service conducts free DNA tests for indigent South Africans where such a test is required to prove one’s South African citizenship. This follows the […]


South Africa: Tebogo Khoza v. Minister of Home Affairs & Another

February 27, 2023 4:24 pm Published by Comments Off on South Africa: Tebogo Khoza v. Minister of Home Affairs & Another

Judgment declaring the applicant, a child born in South Africa in 1997 of a mother who was an irregular migrant at the time of his birth (but died while he was a child), and an unknown father, to be a […]


ZLHR ends Identity Misery and Statelessness Status of Three Minors

February 27, 2023 8:28 am Published by Comments Off on ZLHR ends Identity Misery and Statelessness Status of Three Minors

ZIMBABWE Lawyers for Human Rights (ZLHR) has ended the agony of three minors, who were stateless and unable to pursue their educational exploits after failing to obtain birth certificates. Two of the three minor children, whose mothers passed away in […]


Lawyers for Human Rights in legal battle with Home Affairs over 10-year limbo identity document case

February 26, 2023 4:49 pm Published by Comments Off on Lawyers for Human Rights in legal battle with Home Affairs over 10-year limbo identity document case

Phindile Mazibuko hasn’t been able to travel, open a bank account or apply for citizenship for more than 10 years after Home Affairs flagged her ID document. Thousands of other people are in the same situation. By Dianne Hawker When […]


Kenya: Statelessness: Pemba Community’s Fight for Citizenship and Identity

February 24, 2023 7:06 pm Published by Comments Off on Kenya: Statelessness: Pemba Community’s Fight for Citizenship and Identity

The recent recognition of the Pemba as one Kenya’s ethnic groups must not remain a dead letter. The government must ensure that they are issued with identification documents that will enable them to enjoy their rights as Kenyan citizens. By […]


Tanzania cuts off 970,046 SIM cards

February 23, 2023 1:42 pm Published by Comments Off on Tanzania cuts off 970,046 SIM cards

Tanzania deactivated 970,046 SIM cards despite extending the deadline for its SIM registration law, a move to combat fraudulent activity through mobile phones. However, the vast majority of mobile users in Tanzania did register as 60.47 million out of 61.44 […]