Family battles citizenship case in court
Says law is discriminatory
Judge Michael Leburu will preside over a status hearing of a citizenship case between Sithabile Mathe and the Attorney General on Monday 17th May, 2021.
Mathe represents her two children, Jonas Nokwazi Greger and Sunniva Moratiwa Greger. The case was initially scheduled for April 29th this year, but was postponed to a later date. The postponement is working in their favour as it has allowed them extra time to collect additional supporting applications. The Mathes are represented by Rockfall Lekgowe Law Group.
Mathe is a citizen of Botswana and her husband, Harvard Greger Hagen is a citizen of Norway. Their children were born in Norway, and are Norwegian citizens. They are also Botswana citizens by virtue of their mother being a Motswana. In the case summary, Mathe details that they have been fortunate enough to give their children strong family ties with their maternal and paternal relatives in Botswana and Norway. They have also lived and attended school in both countries, and built lasting friendships and community relationships in the two countries.
Now the law stipulates that when they attain the age of 21 years, they will be required to comply with the current law if they wish to remain citizens of Botswana. According to Botswana Law, any person who is a citizen of Botswana and also a citizen of another country shall, upon the attainment of the age of 21 years, cease to be a citizen of Botswana unless such person has ( attained citizenship), immediately before the attainment of the age of 21 years. They are to do so by firstly renouncing the citizenship of the other country; secondly take the oath of allegiance; and thirdly make such declaration of intention concerning residence as may be prescribed. The Mathes argue that citizenship is a birthright and should never be taken away. They believe that the current practice only applies to some citizens and is thus discriminatory.
The family has so far received overwhelming support from the local community, regionally and even the international community. Each and every one of the people who have come forward supports their case and has similar testimonials to share. As of Thursday last week, close to 90 letters of support were submitted to the lawyers. For those who are also affected by this ‘ unjust’ law, detailed how this issue affects them and why it would be important for the law to be changed.
Speaking in an interview with this publication, Mathe explained that the response has been incredible both on social media platforms and with people coming forward to share their experiences and stories about how this issue affects and has affected them. She said that this is testament that this issue is bigger than many believe. “It affects a lot of people in different ways,” she said.
Mathe explained that each letter that has been submitted refers to more than three people, easily amounting to roughly 500- 600 people. However, this is not the real picture, as the people who have responded to their call have access to the internet and technology, and there might be many others who do not have access who are equally affected.
“There are other people who are facing similar situations but might not have resources to make themselves heard,” she explains. She is worried that the matter has been dragging for years, further explaining that they approached the courts after years of being sent from pillar to post.
They have also had to sit and watch as Permanent Secretaries in the Ministry of Nationality, Immigration and Gender Affairs come and go. But still they had remained hopeful that they will find a solution to their issue. As matters stand Moratiwa is just about to turn 21. She is now 19 years. And soon her brother who is 15 years old will also have to come face to face with the same predicament. The family relocated back to Botswana in 2006. Soon after, they started to worry about the issue. “We have spoken to different representatives from the Ministry for years, raising our concerns about this issue,” she said. But they were sent from pillar to post. While all of this was going on, they also had to wait with bated breath and watched as the Citizenship Act ( Amendment Bill) was rejected last year. They are hoping for a positive outcome as the case can open many doors for other families that are in similar situations.
Skillshare International Botswana is assisting the family by raising awareness and mobilising the community for support. The response to the case has been overwhelming, she explained. “My children have friends who are in the same boat,” she said. They have received responses from people in the region and the rest of the world who had no choice but to renounce one citizenship over the other, or those who will soon have to make that difficult choice. “We have also received responses from young educated people who would have loved to come back and work here but they had to choose one citizenship over the other”, she explained, adding that this would have been beneficial to the economy in Botswana.