Government tightens ban on dual citizenship

The Zimbabwean government is to table an amendment to the Citizenship Act in parliament this week - a move expected to affect thousands of British expatriates and descendents in the country.

The South African newspaper 'The Star' reported a government spokesman as saying the amendment was necessary after the Supreme Court ruled that a law prohibiting dual citizenship was impractical because it did not contain a provision requiring a person to present evidence of having renounced any other citizenship.

The amendment will require anyone who wants to retain Zimbabwean citizenship to renounce any other citizenship. Government officials estimate that up to 20,000 whites with Zimbabwean passports also hold British passports or can claim British citizenship. Whites make up less than one percent of Zimbabwe's 12.5 million people.

The official Ziana news agency also reported that the government is cutting to five years from seven the time in which a citizen can stay out of the country "without lawful excuse" before losing Zimbabwean citizenship. The agency quoted a government spokesman as saying there were concerns that those with dual citizenship were behind efforts to discredit the ZANU-PF government.