News / National
Deported Zimbabwean seeks citizenship reinstatement
16 May 2012 at 01:57hrs | Views
South Africa-based Zimbabwean Roland Whitehead has made an application at the High Court seeking a declaration order to have his citizenship status restored and to be issued with a new Zimbabwean passport within 14 days.
The citizenship wrangle pitting Whitehead as the applicant and four respondents, namely the Registrar-General of Citizenship, Home Affairs co-ministers, Minister of Justice and Legal Affairs and Minster of Constitutional and Parliamentary Affairs, was heard yesterday before Justice Mariya Zimba Dube.
However, Justice Dube reserved judgment after indicating she needed more time to make a determination on the matter after submissions by both parties.
Whitehead, who was represented by Bryant Elliot from Zimbabwe Lawyers for Human Rights, did not attend the court hearing after being declared a prohibited immigrant by then Home Affairs minister Kembo Mohadi in 2005.
In his heads of arguments, Elliot contended that the Registrar-General unlawfully seized Whitehead's passport and Mohadi illegally declared him a prohibited immigrant and, as a result "forced him to leave Zimbabwe" and settle in South Africa.
"One of the declarations sought in this application is that an order which was issued by the then Minister of Home Affairs (now co-minister in the same portfolio) deeming the applicant to be a prohibited person is unlawful and of no force or effect," Elliot said.
"The applicant was a holder of a Zimbabwean passport issued to him by the office of the first respondent (Registrar-General) in his self-styled capacity as 'Chief Passport Officer'. In 2005 he confiscated this passport."
The lawyer added: "The minister is not allowed at law to evict a citizen of a country. It was illegal for him to declare a Zimbabwean citizen by birth a prohibited immigrant. Applicant regards Zimbabwe as his home and, although he is temporarily residing in South Africa at the present time, he wants to resume residing permanently in Zimbabwe."
The court heard, after losing his passport, Whitehead applied for South African citizenship, by virtue of his father being born in that country, and was issued with a South African passport.
The Registrar-General's lawyer, Caroline Mudenda, insisted Whitehead was a South African national by descent, an assertion which was challenged by Elliot.
"Applicant is a citizen of South Africa by descent through operation of the law. He did not have to take any steps to claim his South African citizenship and the only step he could have taken, as decided by the Supreme Court in other matters, was to renounce that," Mudenda said.
She further argued Whitehead did not act in terms of the law as required by the Citizenship Act and as a result fell foul of the law.
Asked by the court why the Registrar-General seized Whitehead's passport, Mudenda said: "My lady, there is already a law in place that prohibits dual citizenship that is why I said he fell foul of the law."
The citizenship wrangle pitting Whitehead as the applicant and four respondents, namely the Registrar-General of Citizenship, Home Affairs co-ministers, Minister of Justice and Legal Affairs and Minster of Constitutional and Parliamentary Affairs, was heard yesterday before Justice Mariya Zimba Dube.
However, Justice Dube reserved judgment after indicating she needed more time to make a determination on the matter after submissions by both parties.
Whitehead, who was represented by Bryant Elliot from Zimbabwe Lawyers for Human Rights, did not attend the court hearing after being declared a prohibited immigrant by then Home Affairs minister Kembo Mohadi in 2005.
In his heads of arguments, Elliot contended that the Registrar-General unlawfully seized Whitehead's passport and Mohadi illegally declared him a prohibited immigrant and, as a result "forced him to leave Zimbabwe" and settle in South Africa.
"One of the declarations sought in this application is that an order which was issued by the then Minister of Home Affairs (now co-minister in the same portfolio) deeming the applicant to be a prohibited person is unlawful and of no force or effect," Elliot said.
"The applicant was a holder of a Zimbabwean passport issued to him by the office of the first respondent (Registrar-General) in his self-styled capacity as 'Chief Passport Officer'. In 2005 he confiscated this passport."
The lawyer added: "The minister is not allowed at law to evict a citizen of a country. It was illegal for him to declare a Zimbabwean citizen by birth a prohibited immigrant. Applicant regards Zimbabwe as his home and, although he is temporarily residing in South Africa at the present time, he wants to resume residing permanently in Zimbabwe."
The court heard, after losing his passport, Whitehead applied for South African citizenship, by virtue of his father being born in that country, and was issued with a South African passport.
The Registrar-General's lawyer, Caroline Mudenda, insisted Whitehead was a South African national by descent, an assertion which was challenged by Elliot.
"Applicant is a citizen of South Africa by descent through operation of the law. He did not have to take any steps to claim his South African citizenship and the only step he could have taken, as decided by the Supreme Court in other matters, was to renounce that," Mudenda said.
She further argued Whitehead did not act in terms of the law as required by the Citizenship Act and as a result fell foul of the law.
Asked by the court why the Registrar-General seized Whitehead's passport, Mudenda said: "My lady, there is already a law in place that prohibits dual citizenship that is why I said he fell foul of the law."
Source - newsday
