Migration Jurisprudence from the South › Tanzania
Robert John Penessis v. Tanzania
African Court on Human and Peoples’ Rights · Tanzania · 2019-11-28 · Regional court or body
Citation: Application 013/2015
Type of case: Constitutional and human rights
Outcome: Decided for the migrant side
Question
Was the detention of a man as an illegal immigrant, when he claimed Tanzanian nationality, lawful?
What the court decided
No. The state had to prove he was not a national; his detention and the denial of nationality were arbitrary.
In plain language
A man born in Tanzania was arrested and held for years as an illegal immigrant. The African Court said the state, not the man, had to prove he was a foreigner.
Dalam bahasa sederhana
Seorang pria kelahiran Tanzania ditangkap dan ditahan bertahun-tahun sebagai imigran ilegal. Mahkamah Afrika menyatakan negara, bukan pria itu, yang harus membuktikan ia orang asing.
Pertanyaan: Apakah penahanan seseorang sebagai imigran ilegal, padahal ia mengaku warga Tanzania, sah?
What happened afterwards
- 2019-11-28: Judgment.
Sources
Open this decision in the interactive collection (compare, filter, Indonesian view, downloads).
Cite as: Institute for Migrant Rights (2026), Migration Jurisprudence from the South, version 0.1, https://theimr.org/court-decisions/d/afct-penessis-2019/. This page summarizes a court decision for research and advocacy; it is not legal advice.