Govt defies Supreme Court

THE ministry of home affairs has failed to meet a deadline set by the Supreme Court for the issuing of a Namibian birth certificate to a child born to non-Namibian parents living in the country. The deadline was part of an order given by the Supreme Court on 23 June, when it found that a son of two Dutch citizens who have been living in Namibia for the past 10 years qualifies for Namibian citizenship by birth. The court directed the minister to issue the boy with a full Namibian birth certificate within 30 days from the date of the order. However, by yesterday, the ministry had not yet complied with the Supreme Court's order. Instead, the minister of home affairs and immigration, Pendukeni Iivula-Ithana, was pushing a change to the Namibian Citizenship Act through the National Assembly in an attempt to cancel out the consequences of the Supreme Court's judgement.