age of majority. If he does not comply, he will automatically lose his Swazi citizenship as a matter of law according to section 43(3) of the 2005 Constitution. The Constitution also contains a provision allowing for ‘citizenship by descent.’ Article 41 states: A person born, whether before or after the commencement of this Constitution and whether in or outside of Swaziland, is a citizen by descent if by birth that person is a descendant.126 Article 42 provides for ‘Citizenship by operation of law,’ which states to: (1) A person born in or outside Swaziland before the commencement of this Constitution shall be a citizen of Swaziland by operation of law if at the birth of that person one of the parents was a citizen of Swaziland. (2) ... “citizen by operation of law” refers to a person who was born before the existence of the status of a citizen of Swaziland and was a member of a class of persons – (a) generally regarded as Swazi by descent; and (b) subsequently declared by law to be citizens of Swaziland. Taken together, these provisions are somewhat confusing. It would seem that the citizenship by descent category would cover people who would not acquire citizenship by birth due to not having Swazi fathers (presumably they would be considered ‘descendants’ if their mother was Swazi). Citizenship by operation of law appears to offer another opportunity for citizenship as long as one parent was Swazi – either through citizenship or ethnicity. There appears to be no different treatment towards citizens by descent or by operation of law as opposed to citizens by birth, making the purpose of the distinction unclear. Nonetheless, there are a number of loopholes in these provisions that could create statelessness. In lieu of providing explicit legal guidance, we would suggest that you contact Swazi authorities in each individual case to see if the person is recognised as a citizen. If not, you can consider a section 2(2) application. Lesotho According to the Lesotho Constitution of 1993,127 citizenship is not automatically acquired for people born outside Lesotho unless one of the parents was born inside Lesotho. Article 39. A person born outside Lesotho after the coming into operation of this Constitution shall become a citizen of Lesotho at the 126 The Swaziland Citizenship Act 14 of 1992 uses the term ‘descendant of an ancestor who was a citizen of Swaziland’ in section 4(1). 127 Available at: http://www.unhcr.org/refworld/docid/3ae6b57e4.html (accessed 4 November 2011) 94 Promoting citizenship and preventing statelessness in South Africa: A practitioner’s guide