Report on Citizenship Law: Rwanda Ministry of the Interior to the Ministry of Justice, which at this time had civil status in its attributions. In 2008, a new organic law on Rwandan nationality came into force to rectify deficiencies observed in the 2004 law in a spirit of further facilitation and service delivery. Whereas the content of the 2008 law is similar to that of the 2004 law, some changes should not go unnoticed. The law of 2008 deployed a coordinated approach to the management of Rwandan nationality centralised under one institution, the Directorate General of Immigration and Emigration (DGIE). This institution was put in charge of receiving and processing applications for the acquisition, renunciation and recovery of Rwandan nationality, and of advising the cabinet on who to grant Rwandan nationality to. Before 2008, the authority competent to handle nationality matters was the Ministry of Justice and processes were cumbersome involving various public institutions. In addition, the law of 2008 eliminated some outdated forms of nationality acquisition such as the adoption of an adult person. The philosophy behind this move was that that this mode of acquisition was seen as promoting a culture of dependency and defeated the purpose of adoption, which is to help the vulnerable and powerlessness who need family for their protection.35 The law of 2008 also ended the automatic reacquisition policy provided for in the 2004 law. In contrast, it provided that those who had not returned to Rwanda for the purpose of settling by the time the law of 2008 came into force had to undergo a recovery procedure. This provision was criticised for being contrary to the constitutional protection against deprivation of nationality by origin.36 The legislators were therefore torn between enforcing the law as drafted and preserving the facilitation spirit, as many people were yet to return to their motherland. It remains unclear why the law suddenly changed after only four years of its existence, given the fact that many Rwandans were still returning to Rwanda. No official reason was provided for the sudden removal of the policy of automatic reacquisition on returning to settle. However, there is no denying the fact that this decision helped to curtail neighbouring countries’ moves to expel their nationals of Rwandan origin under the assurance that these people would be received and helped to settle in Rwanda.37 In 2015, the Rwandan Constitution was revised through a referendum to enable a third term re-election of Paul Kagame as President of the Republic. The provisions on Rwandan nationality were also slightly amended in Article 25 as follows: Every Rwandan has the right to his or her country. No Rwandan can be banished from his or her country. Every Rwandan has the right to Rwandan nationality. Dual nationality is permitted. No one can be deprived of Rwandan nationality of origin. 35 Karomba F (2004:12). See Article 7 of the Constitution of the Republic of Rwanda (Version 2015)., of the Constitution of the Republic of Rwanda (Version 2010).; See also Article 25 (3) of the Constitution of the Republic of Rwanda (Version 2015). 37 See Manby B (2018: 92). 36 RSCAS/GLOBALCIT-CR 2020/10 - © 2020 Author(s) 7