By Brian Okoth
The Tanzanian government has maintained it is not yet the right time to allow its citizens the option of holding dual citizenship.
Home Affairs minister, Hamad Masauni, told parliament on Monday that the government had commissioned opinion polls on the matter, and that a majority of the citizens were against dual citizenship “for now”.
In previous statements, the State said dual citizenship would “confuse” many Tanzanians and “cause inequality”.
The government has also expressed its fears that dual citizenship would erode Tanzania’s national identity.
“When this request [on dual citizenship] becomes the plea of the majority, then the government would reconsider its position, but for now, the government is in the final stages of preparing a special status for the diaspora [community],” Masauni told MPs.
The minister maintained that citizenship in the country would continue to be acquired through birth, descent and naturalisation, in accordance with the Tanzania Citizenship Act.
The country has been under pressure, including from its citizens abroad, to legalise dual citizenship.
A good number of countries in Africa allow dual citizenship. They include Ghana, Kenya, Tunisia, Nigeria, Angola, Benin, Somalia and most recently Liberia.
The nations that are yet to approve dual citizenship are Cameroon, Republic of Congo, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Ethiopia and Tanzania.
