Namibia: Registration needed for boy’s citizenship – court
Published: 22/Mar/2023
Source: The Namibian (Windhoek)
by Werner Menges
A FOUR-YEAR-OLD boy at the centre of a legal battle about his nationality will have Namibian citizenship by descent once his birth has been registered at the ministry of home affairs or a Namibian diplomatic mission outside the country, the Supreme Court stated in a judgement on Monday.
In terms of Namibia’s Constitution and the Citizenship Act of 1990, the registration of the boy’s birth in South Africa in March 2019 is a precondition for the registration of his Namibian citizenship by descent, deputy chief justice Petrus Damaseb said in a unanimous judgement of a five-judge bench of the court.
In the judgement, Damaseb stated that since the boy’s birth has not been registered in terms of the Citizenship Act, the High Court should not have granted an order in which it was declared in October 2021 that the boy is a Namibian citizen by descent.
The Supreme Court overturned the High Court’s decision with Damaseb’s judgement, which was delivered two weeks after the appeals court heard oral arguments on an appeal filed by the minister of home affairs and immigration against a judgement of High Court judge Thomas Masuku.
Read further : https://www.namibian.com.na/120927/read/Registration-needed-for–boys-citizenship-%E2%80%93-court