Author Archives for Bronwen Manby

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 […]


50,000 People Undocumented in Namibia

February 22, 2023 7:14 pm Published by Comments Off on 50,000 People Undocumented in Namibia

By Aletta Shikololo Ongwediva — For his entire life, Nghidipo Rafael has had to prove that he indeed exists. The 29-year-old from Outaukondjele village in the Ohangwena region was born from Namibian parents, yet he is stateless. This fact has […]


Niger : un plan stratégique pour l’amélioration du système d’enregistrement de l’état civil

February 22, 2023 12:13 pm Published by Comments Off on Niger : un plan stratégique pour l’amélioration du système d’enregistrement de l’état civil

Le 22 février 2023, la Représentante de l’OIF pour l’Afrique de l’Ouest a participé à la remise officielle au Ministre de l’Intérieur et de la Décentralisation du Niger du « Plan stratégique pour l’amélioration du système d’enregistrement des faits d’état […]


Key court challenge to powers of Minister of Home Affairs stripping South Africans of their citizenship looms

February 21, 2023 3:08 pm Published by Comments Off on Key court challenge to powers of Minister of Home Affairs stripping South Africans of their citizenship looms

By David Bilchitz and Reuven Ziegler An apartheid-era relic which allowed the minority white government to strip Bantustan residents and exiled freedom fighters of their South African citizenship is being challenged in the Supreme Court of Appeal. Believe it or […]


South Africa’s plans for integrated digital ID advance as cabinet approves dedicated bill

February 21, 2023 2:30 pm Published by Comments Off on South Africa’s plans for integrated digital ID advance as cabinet approves dedicated bill

By Ayang Macdonald The National Identification and Registration Bill 2022, a piece of draft legislation which seeks to introduce a single and integrated biometric national identification system (NIS) for all persons living on South African territory, has been approved by […]


Tanzania: AG asks High Court to reject 2022 dual citizenship petition

February 21, 2023 8:33 am Published by Comments Off on Tanzania: AG asks High Court to reject 2022 dual citizenship petition

THE Attorney General (AG) has submitted three objections to ask the High Court to throw out proceedings on dual citizenship, citing irregularities in the oaths of the applicants and violation of section 4 of the Basic Rights and Duties Enforcement […]


Tanzanians in the diaspora file case over dual citizenship

February 21, 2023 7:21 am Published by Comments Off on Tanzanians in the diaspora file case over dual citizenship

Dar es Salaam. The government has opposed a constitutional petition in which six Tanzanians who live and work abroad are challenging sections of the law that prohibit dual citizenship. Through preliminary objections, state lawyers want the High Court to dismiss […]


How the eight “stateless” of the ICTR live in Niger

February 21, 2023 6:50 am Published by Comments Off on How the eight “stateless” of the ICTR live in Niger

It’s one of the major misstep of the Arusha’s white elephant, also known as the International Residual Mechanism for Criminal Tribunals (IRMCT). A year ago, its Arusha branch sent eight acquitted and released Rwandan persons to Niger, but Niger then said it […]