CASE NOTE
ROBERT JOHN PENESSIS v UNITED REPUBLIC OF
TANZANIA (JUDGEMENT) (AFRICAN COURT ON
HUMAN AND PEOPLES’ RIGHTS, APP NO.013/2015, 28
NOVEMBER 2019)
BRONWEN MANBY * AND CLEMENT BERNARDO MUBANGA †
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Introduction........................................................................................................... 172
Facts ...................................................................................................................... 173
Issues..................................................................................................................... 175
Holding ................................................................................................................. 175
A Admissibility ............................................................................................ 175
B Merits........................................................................................................ 175
Reasoning ............................................................................................................. 176
Conclusion ............................................................................................................ 177
INTRODUCTION
Robert John Penessis v United Republic of Tanzania (Judgement) (‘Penessis’) 1 is
the second case decided by the African Court on Human and Peoples’ Rights
(‘African Court’) that considers the right to a nationality. The judgment builds on
the African Court’s decision in Anudo Ochieng Anudo v Tanzania (‘Anudo’), 2 as
well as the existing jurisprudence from the African Commission on Human and
Peoples’ Rights (‘African Commission’), and the African Committee of Experts
on the Rights and Welfare of the Child. 3 The African Court ruled that Tanzania
*
†
1
2
3
Bronwen Manby is a Senior Policy Fellow at the London School of Economics and Political
Science, and an independent consultant. She previously worked for the Open Society
Foundations and Human Rights Watch. She has written extensively on statelessness and the
right to a nationality in Africa, and her book Citizenship in Africa: The Law of Belonging was
published by Hart Publishing in November 2018.
Clement Bernardo Mubanga is a PhD Student at the Open University of Tanzania, his thesis
is titled ‘Determination and Proof of Tanzanian Citizenship’. His book is titled Accessing
Tanzania Immigration Services: A Question and Answer Guide Book published by Nesmap
Printing Technology in May 2018. Email: mubangakiganda@gmail.com.
(African Court on Human and Peoples’ Rights, App No.013/2015, 28 November 2019)
(‘Penessis’).
Anudo Ochieng Anudo v Tanzania (Judgment) (African Court on Human and Peoples’ Rights,
App No.012/2015, 22 March 2018) (‘Anudo’). See discussion in Bronwen Manby, ‘Anudo
Ochieng Anudo v Tanzania (Judgment) (African Court on Human and Peoples’ Rights, App
No 012/2015, 22 March 2018)’ (2019) 1(1) Statelessness and Citizenship Review 170.
See generally Bronwen Manby, Citizenship in Africa: The Law of Belonging (Hart 2018);
Bronwen Manby, Citizenship Law in Africa: A Comparative Study (Open Society
Foundations, 3rd ed, 2016).