STATELESSNESS AND CITIZENSHIP IN THE EAST AFRICAN COMMUNITY use still referred to the long-repealed 1964 Citizenship Act, though these are now phased out.42 In 2015, the Constitutional Court confirmed the interpretation that refugees were not eligible for the easier process of registration, though it stated (but for technical reasons did not give a formal declaration) that it considered they were eligible for naturalisation.43 In Kenya, a Refugee Act adopted in 2006 brought Kenyan law largely into line with international standards of refugee protection: although the act did not explicitly give refugees the right to work, they are able to apply for work permits in practice. The act did not contain any explicit provision in relation to naturalisation of refugees.44 The 2010 Constitution and 2011 Citizenship and Immigration Act placed no barriers in principle on access to citizenship for refugees. In practice, however, the formal naturalisation processes are not accessible. In Tanzania, the Refugees Act (No. 9 of 1998) does not specifically provide for naturalisation, but there is no exclusion for refugees in the 1995 Citizenship Act. Special temporary procedures for naturalisation in Kenya Kenya’s 2011 Citizenship and Immigration Act, adopted in compliance with the requirements of the 2010 constitution, also provided for special temporary procedures to allow people resident in Kenya since 1963, and their descendants, to register as citizens. Sections 15, 16 and 17 of the act provided for persons living in Kenya for a continuous period since 12th December 1963 to be deemed to be lawful residents and to be eligible on application to be registered as citizens. Although the act drew a distinction between “stateless persons” (described as those without “an enforceable claim to the citizenship of any recognized state”) and “migrants” (those “who voluntarily migrated into Kenya before the 12th December 1963”), there was no real distinction between the two categories. Even “migrants” are only eligible if they do not hold a passport or an identification document of any other country; while both categories were made subject to the same conditions, including “adequate knowledge of Kiswahili or a local dialect” and a clean criminal record. Registration is discretionary and not a right. Adult children of those eligible to register under these provisions are also eligible for registration if born and resident in Kenya and without identification documents from any other country, subject to the same conditions as the parents. These procedures were put in place for five years (expiring at the end of August 2016), with the possibility of extension for a further three years; this extension was granted in October 2016, until August 2019 (see further below, under heading on Kenya, in particular in relation to the Makonde).45 Amendments adopted in 2012 allowed the Cabinet Secretary, “for sufficient reason”, to waive the requirements that applicants do not hold documentation from any other country and had arrived in the country before 1963, if they satisfy the other conditions.46 42 Samuel G Walker, From refugee to citizen? Obstacles to the Naturalisation of Refugees in Uganda, Kampala: Refugee Law Project, 2011. 43 Centre for Public Interest Law Ltd and Salima Namusobya v. Attorney General, Constitutional Petition No. 34 of 2010, Judgement of 6 October 2015. The Constitutional Court is mandated to interpret the Constitution, and thus stated that it did not have the mandate to interpret the act where the naturalisation provisions are included. 44 Refugee Act No. 13 of 2006. 45 Legal Notice 178, Kenya Citizenship and Immigration Act: Extension of Time, 4 October 2016. 46 Citizenship and Immigration Control Act 2011, Sections 15, 16 and 17, as amended by the Statute Law (Miscellaneous Amendments) Act No. 12 of 2012; see also Kenya Citizenship and Immigration (Amendment) Regulations 2016. UNHCR / September 2018 19