001075
birth certificate clearly shows that he was born in Tanzania,
in the opinion of this
Court, establishes a presumption that the Applicant is a Tanzanian by birth and it is
for the Respondent State to refute this presumption. Accordingly, the burden of proof
has to shift to the Respondent State, which has to prove that the Applicant, in spite
all the evidence adduced above, is not a Tanzanian national.
100.
In this regard, the Court takes note of the contention of the Respondent State that
the said birth certificate was fraudulent and that the Applicant has British and South
African passports,
attesting to the fact that he is a citizen of those countries. The
Respondent State has adduced copies of those passports but the Court notes that
these documents bore different names and the Respondent State has not provided
compelling evidence to substantiate its averment that both passports belong to the
Applicant.
The
Court
notes
also that the Applicant
refused
knowledge
of those
passports.
101. The
Court
further
notes
the
Respondent
State's
argument
that the Applicant
submitted an application for residence permit and, for that purpose, used a
British
passport. At the public hearing held on 19 and 20 March 2019, the Court asked the
Applicant whether he had actually applied for a residence permit. The Applicant's
Counsel
stated
Tanzanian
and
that his client had
therefore
does
never undertaken
not need
the permit.
such
a step because
The
Court
also
he is
asked
the
Respondent State to provide a copy of the said application for residence permit, but
the latter was
not
able to do so,
contending
that the said
application
was
in the
Applicant's possession.
102. At this juncture, the Court further notes that all the documents tendered by both
Parties are copies or certified copies and that neither of the parties adduced originals
of the documents used as evidence. In the circumstance, the Court is of the opinion
that the Respondent
State, as a depository and guarantor of public authority and
custodian of the civil status registry, has the necessary means to correctly establish
whether
the Applicant
yy
a
47 5
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ee. A
7
was
a Tanzanian,
27
South
African
or a British
citizen.
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a. ——— =
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