The African Court on Human and People’s Rights (ACHPR) has ruled that a State cannot arbitrarily deny citizenship with retroactive effect, meaning that a person cannot be turned into a foreigner for the sole purpose of expelling them.
Mr. Anudo was born in Tanzania and lived there as a citizen of the country until 2012, possessing both a Tanzanian birth certificate and passport. Upon applying for a marriage licence, he was subjected to an investigation into his citizenship by immigration officers, claiming that his passport was applied for with forged supporting documents. After failing to appear before the Immigration Service to legalise his presence, his passport was erased from the register of legally recognised Tanzanian passports and he was deported to Kenya. The Kenyan authorities found that he had no right to remain there and he found himself in no-man’s land between the borders of the two countries, living in poor conditions.
Mr. Anudo sued the Tanzanian Government on the grounds that he was illegally expelled from the country in inhuman, undignified and degrading conditions. He submitted that both he and his biological parents were Tanzanians by birth and his right to citizenship as guaranteed by the Tanzanian Constitution and international law had been violated. The Tanzanian Government asserted that he was not a citizen of Tanzania.
The ACHPR found that, in revoking Mr. Anudo of his Tanzanian nationality, the Tanzanian Government was in violation of Article 15(2) of the United Nation’s Universal Declaration of Human Rights which provides that ‘‘no one shall be arbitrarily deprived of his nationality’’. The Court ruled that the burden of proof fell on the State to show that Mr. Anudo was not a citizen when it was the State that was denying the validity of state-issued documents. It was also judged that the Tanzanian authorities had violated his right to a fair hearing before a court and access to judicial review.
The Court subsequently ordered the Tanzanian Government to take the necessary steps to restore Mr. Anudo’s citizenship rights by allowing him to return to the country and ensuring his protection. Tanzania was also instructed to amend its legislation to provide individuals with judicial remedies in the event of a dispute over their citizenship.
Click here to read the full judgement in Anudo v United Republic of Tanzania