CITIZENSHIP AND STATELESSNESS IN THE MEMBER STATES OF THE SOUTHERN AFRICAN DEVELOPMENT COMMUNITY 2020 Loss and deprivation of nationality acquired by naturalisation Almost all African countries provide for deprivation of citizenship acquired by naturalisation under some circumstances, such as a conviction on charges of treason or a similar crime against the state; conviction on charges of ordinary, but still serious, crimes; or a finding that citizenship was acquired by fraud. In Malawi, for example, which has provisions that were typical for the Commonwealth states but have by now been reformed in many other countries, the grounds are very broad and the decision highly discretionary. Citizenship can be revoked where the minister “is satisfied” that the person “has shown himself by act or speech to be disloyal or disaffected towards the Government of Malawi”; when he has traded or associated with or assisted an enemy during war; when within five years of receiving citizenship he is sentenced to a prison term exceeding 12 months; when he resides outside Malawi for a continuous period of seven years without being in the service of Malawi or an international organization or without registering annually at a Malawian consulate his intention to retain his citizenship; or when Malawian citizenship was obtained through fraud, misrepresentation, or concealment of any material fact.172 At the other end of the scale, Zambia only permits deprivation of citizenship if it has been acquired by fraud and on no other grounds.173 The South African Citizenship Act provided from 1995 for deprivation of a citizen by naturalisation in case of fraud or sentenced to more than one year’s imprisonment, or if the minister “is satisfied that it is in the public interest”; in 2010, the act was amended to introduce a further – apparently unconstitutional – ground for automatic loss of nationality of a naturalised citizen, if he or she “engages, under the flag of another country, in a war that the Republic does not support.”174 In Commonwealth countries, many laws provide for an individual to lose naturalised citizenship automatically if he or she stays outside the country for seven years without notifying the authorities of an intention to retain citizenship. The only countries in Southern Africa where this is not the case are Angola, Comoros, DRC, Madagascar, Mozambique, South Africa, and Zambia. This rule, despite being permitted in international law (Article 7 of the 1961 Convention), effectively means that a naturalised citizen without dual citizenship cannot move to another country without risking statelessness. Namibia and Zimbabwe allow naturalised citizens to lose their citizenship after a shorter period of time than the one allowed by the 1961 Convention (two and five years, respectively). Quite a large number of countries in Africa — including Lesotho in southern Africa — allow nationality by naturalisation to be revoked only during a fixed period after it has been acquired, and not indefinitely. This provides greater protection against disproportionate and arbitrary use of the law, especially in case of minor irregularities discovered long after the fact and should be regarded as best practice. 172 Malawi Citizenship Act 1966, as amended, sec. 25. 173 Constitution of Zambia, art. 40; Zambia Citizenship Act secs. 27-28. 174 South Africa Citizenship Act 1995, sec. 8; South Africa Citizenship Amendment Act, No.17 of 2010, adding subsection 6(3) to the principal act. This amendment came into force on 1 January 2013. See further Submission on the South African Citizenship Amendment Bill, B 17 – 2010, Citizenship Rights in Africa Initiative, 6 August 2010. UNHCR / December, 2020 50