This case dealt with the naturalization of refugees under section 14 of the Refugee Act 18 of 1983. The court held that the total residence period prior to application for naturalization must be 6 years, and an application made prior to the expiry of this period would be ineffective. The court also declared that the interdict against the prosecution was highly irregular and insupportable. The central dispute involved the respondent's arrival date in Lesotho. Analyzing visa and refugee status application forms, the court found the respondent's claim of arriving in 2003 contradicted by evidence. The valid 2005 visa request form indicated non-refugee status, and his acknowledgment of an arrest in Ethiopia in May 2005 further conflicted with his alleged arrival dates. The court concluded that the respondent likely encountered the Commissioner for Refugees in 2005, supporting the arrival in Lesotho from September 2005.
Refugee, status application, certificate of naturalisation, prescribed time period for naturalisation, disputed date of arrival.
The respondent asserted entitlement to a naturalization certificate and claimed officials obstructed him from taking the necessary oath. He sought a mandatory order for the oath. The central dispute was the respondent's arrival date, alleged as 2003 by him and 2005 by the appellants. The appellants contended that if the respondent arrived in 2005, he would not yet be eligible for a naturalization certificate, diminishing the importance of other issues.
The appeal was upheld. Based on the evidence that the respondent only arrived in Lesotho in September 2005, he was not eligible for a naturalisation certificate so the issues that the court were approached with fall away.
The court held that the respondent arrived in 2005. He could not be granted a naturalisation certificate since the Refugee Act, required a person seeking naturalization to have been in the country for 6 years prior to the application.