By Lehlohonolo Lehana.
The Democratic Alliance (DA) is heading to the Constitutional Court in a hearing where they seek to obtain an order of confirmation of the SCA ruling that Section 6(1)(a) of the South African Citizenship Act 88 of 1995 is unconstitutional and invalid to the extent that it leads to citizens losing their citizenship upon voluntary and formal acquisition of the citizenship of another country, unless they obtain prior permission from the Home Affairs Minister.
The section stipulates that South Africans may lose their citizenship upon voluntary and formal acquisition of citizenship of another country.
To avoid this, they would need prior permission from the Home Affairs Minister.
Following the 2018 loss in the High Court in Pretoria, the opposition party appealed successfully to the SCA, which found in its 2023 judgment, that the said section arbitrarily imposes a loss of citizenship on those who acquire a second citizenship, while failing to advance any legitimate government purpose.
The DA wants the apex court to affirm the SCA order and restore citizenship to those who lost it under the provision.
The application is unopposed.
Leader of the DA abroad, Ludre Stevens, said they are ready to help South Africans overseas who have lost their citizenship to reclaim it.
Stevens said, “Even though the judgment last year wasn’t challenged by the then Minister of Home Affairs, the Constitutional Court still has to give the final go ahead. The DA Abroad firmly believes that this reinstatement should be automatic, free of charge and without any red tape.”
“For anyone who does not want their nationality back, they should have an easy opt-out process but those who want to get it back then it must be seamless. We need to cover all (the) bases including cases like children born to parents who have lost their nationality as well. We are ready to help South Africans to reclaim their nationality with as little hassle as possible,” He added.