‘Marriages of convenience’ run into flak in National Assembly

DEPUTY Minister of Home Affairs Loide Kasingo has called on Parliament to consider amending laws that give foreigners automatic citizenship after two years of marriage to a Namibian.

“We must get rid of it,” she told the House on Thursday, “I am not saying foreign men must not marry Namibian women, but not if the intention is to come here and get citizenship in two years.” Kasingo argued that the provision was open to abuse and that such marriages were seldom genuine.She received support from Minister of Women Affairs and Child Welfare Netumbo Nandi-Ndaitwah who, in her closing remarks on the debate on the Charter on Human and People’s Rights on the Rights of Women in Africa, said Government should condemn “marriages of convenience”.”We should not allow ourselves to be used by foreign men,” she said, claiming that men were just paying their way into Namibia.Nandi-Ndaitwah cautioned women who, she said, were duped by money and material things that they would be worse off when the men eventually decided to “dump” them upon obtaining citizenship.”They divorce this Namibian and then bring a woman from their country.Then this woman automatically becomes a Namibian,” she claimed.Following heated debate over the past two weeks, the National Assembly agreed that Namibia should accede to the protocol but that there were some provisions, which, at a later stage, it would seek to change.Kasingo argued that the provision was open to abuse and that such marriages were seldom genuine.She received support from Minister of Women Affairs and Child Welfare Netumbo Nandi-Ndaitwah who, in her closing remarks on the debate on the Charter on Human and People’s Rights on the Rights of Women in Africa, said Government should condemn “marriages of convenience”.”We should not allow ourselves to be used by foreign men,” she said, claiming that men were just paying their way into Namibia.Nandi-Ndaitwah cautioned women who, she said, were duped by money and material things that they would be worse off when the men eventually decided to “dump” them upon obtaining citizenship.”They divorce this Namibian and then bring a woman from their country.Then this woman automatically becomes a Namibian,” she claimed.Following heated debate over the past two weeks, the National Assembly agreed that Namibia should accede to the protocol but that there were some provisions, which, at a later stage, it would seek to change.