By Doreen Mokgolo
- South Africans who became dual citizens without applying for retention letters had their citizenship stripped.
- The court has now confirmed that the law used to take away their citizenship is unconstitutional.
The Democratic Alliance has come out on top after a decade-long court battle over parts of the Citizenship Act that caused many South Africans to lose their citizenship without knowing it.
On Tuesday, the constitutional court confirmed the invalidity of section 6(1)(a) of the Citizenship Act of 1995.
The case was driven by the DA and DA Abroad, a related group that supports South Africans living in other countries.
The party took the fight to court after many South Africans discovered that they had lost their citizenship just because they took up a second nationality, without applying for a “retention of citizenship” letter beforehand.
The law stripped South Africans of their citizenship if they didn’t ask for permission before becoming citizens of another country.
The DA said this rule was unfair and made no sense because it did not serve any clear purpose.
Willie Aucamp, the party’s national spokesperson, said many people had their rights taken away without any notice.
“Throughout this legal battle, we were resisted, opposed and obstructed at every turn by the previous Ministers of Home Affairs at every level, including most notably former Minister Aaron Motsoaledi,” he said.
The court’s ruling means that section 6(1)(a) of the Act is now officially invalid, and South Africans who lost their citizenship under this rule may now have a way to get it back.
Pictured above: Willie Aucamp.
Image source: DA
