IN RE ABDALLAH SALIM ALI AB-SALAAM (1967) HCD 174

Misc. Civ. 19-D-67; 15/6/67; 

Georges, C.J.

Applicant sought a court order prohibiting enforcement of a notice which stated that he was a prohibited immigrant and ordered him to leave Tanganyika within 24 hours. (Immigration Regulations 1964, Regulation 13.) He contended that he was both a citizen and an African and, therefore, was exempted from the Immigration Act by section 2(1) (a) and 2(1) (b) thereof, Several witnesses, including several respected and well-informed wazee, testified that they had known both the applicant and his mother for many years and that both had been born in Tanganyika. There was also similar evidence that his father was an Arab and his mother half-Arab and half-Mnyamwezi. However at various times in the past, the applicant had claimed in passport, visa and other official applications to have been born in Muscat and to be a Muscat citizen.

HELD:

(1)  Section 1(1) of the Citizenship Act, 1961 designates persons born in Tanganyika as citizens, “(p)rovided that a person shall not be a citizen if neither of his parents that a person shall not be a citizen if neither of his parents was born in Tanganyika,” This section clearly requires only that one parent have been born in Tanganyika. 

(2) Section 2(4) of the Immigration Act defines “African” as including Swahilis. ”Swahili” is the name given to an ethnic group of the coastal regions consisting of persons descended from the union of African and certain non-African stocks, such as Arab or Somali. It is irrelevant whether the union occurred one or many generations ago. Citing Purshottan Narandes Kotak v. A. Ali Abdullah (1957) E.A. 321. Therefore, applicant’s evidence, if believed, would prove he is on the applicant. (Immigration Act, ss. 22(a), 22(b).) However, his evidence here was sufficient to overcome the force of the prior inconsistent statement he had made. Therefore, he cannot be deported.