STATELESSNESS AND CITIZENSHIP IN THE EAST AFRICAN COMMUNITY 5. Groups at risk of statelessness The categories of people at risk of statelessness are similar across the African continent, and indeed across the world. This section first outlines the common categories, and then highlights some of the specific groups falling within these categories at risk of statelessness in each of the six EAC countries. These country summaries should not be taken as an exhaustive list of the populations concerned; the nature of this study means that it could not hope to identify all the communities and categories of people resident in East Africa who cannot obtain proof of nationality in any country. It is also not possible to provide statistics on how many are stateless: statelessness is often only a situation that becomes apparent over time, after repeated efforts to obtain documents from the authorities of one or more countries. It is, in the end, an individual and not a group condition, and different members of a group sharing some characteristics may succeed or fail in obtaining recognition of nationality because of their different circumstances. Thus, the categories here are of people “at risk of” statelessness: not all those fitting the description of each group will in fact be stateless, and the level of risk may vary. Common categories across all countries Descendants of pre-independence migrants The history of Africa’s colonisation by European powers creates challenges related to the status of populations that were not incorporated into the body of citizens on succession of states; that is, by the transitional provisions that operated on the transfer of sovereignty to the newly independent states. Those most at risk of becoming stateless at this time were the descendants of people who migrated, or were forced to move, during the colonial period, when administrative borders among territories of one colonial power were open. This group divides in turn into two main sub-categories: those whose ancestors came from outside the continent (from Europe, Asia or the Middle East); and—far more numerous—those whose ancestors came from elsewhere in Africa (including, in East Africa, farmworkers recruited across borders to work on commercial plantations, Nubian soldiers from Sudan settled in Kenya and Uganda, Comorian migrants to Zanzibar and Kenya, and others). Border populations Across Africa, members of the many ethnic groups that straddle the colonially-imposed borders often face difficulties in being recognised as nationals on either side of that border, even where the laws of both countries place no obstacle to a person holding both nationalities. Perhaps those most affected by the challenges created by these borders are the groups following a pastoralist way of life and livelihood. Modern state borders may disrupt the long-established routes of both transhumant (seasonal) or fully nomadic pastoralist communities; and members of those communities may have a weak sense of belonging to any individual state, paying taxes where they are required to do so, and obtaining identity documents where they can. Many members of these pastoralist communities do not have identity documents: they can cross borders without any papers, while state institutions may barely exist in the remote rural regions. In any event, even with the correct papers they may be subject to extortion at border points.139 But even those living in urban areas who have never herded a cow can find themselves unable to get recognition of citizenship because of their presumed affiliation to a traditionally pastoralist ethnic group.140 139 See for example, John Markakis, Pastoralism on the Margin, Minority Rights Group, 2004. 140 For Kenya, see The People’s Choice: The Report of the Constitution of Kenya Review Commission, 2002; and two reports by the Kenya National Commission on Human Rights: An Identity Crisis? Study on the Issuance of National Identity Cards in Kenya, 2007 and Out of the Shadows: Towards Ensuring the Rights of Stateless Persons and Persons at Risk of Statelessness in Kenya, 2010. Also 38 UNHCR / September 2018