Citizenship is a bundle of rights and duties reflecting the relationship between an
individual and a State. The nature and extent of these rights and duties vary from
country to country. Because of Zimbabwe’s history, as outlined above, citizenship
issues are likely to be contentious when the new constitution is prepared, particularly
the issue of dual citizenship. To enable informed decisions to be made on these
issues, it may be helpful to examine the rights and duties attaching to citizenship, and
to see how far they extend to non-citizens. The following are the main ones:
Right to Protection from the State: Citizens are entitled to protection from their
State when they are within its borders and when they travel outside it. The State
protects them by maintaining public order and ensuring that its laws are properly
enforced. In a country like Zimbabwe where fundamental human rights are
guaranteed by the Constitution, the State must ensure that those rights are
respected. When its citizens are in foreign countries, the State must do what it can to
uphold their rights in those countries. The State’s duty to protect its people extends
to non-citizens within its borders. The police, for example, have just as much a duty
to investigate or prevent a crime committed against a Zambian or a South African as
they have in regard to a crime committed against a Zimbabwean. The citizenship of
the victim is immaterial. And the Constitution confers on citizens and non-citizens
alike the fundamental rights to life, liberty, property and the protection of law.
Right to vote: Most modern States give their citizens the franchise, although not all
citizens are allowed to vote: children and lunatics cannot do so, and some countries
deprive long-term prisoners of the right to vote. Some countries impose residence
qualifications on the right to vote so that citizens living outside the country usually
cannot vote in elections. It should also be noted that while the right to vote in
national elections is usually reserved to citizens, some countries allow non-citizens to
vote in local authority elections. Zimbabwe used to, but does not now.
Duty of Allegiance or Loyalty to the State: As a corollary to the State’s duty to
protect its citizens, citizens owe a general duty of allegiance to their State..If citizens
break their allegiance they may be guilty of treason or an equivalent statutory crime.
This applies not only to citizens, however: States often expect all residents to be loyal
whether they are citizens or not. Hence in Zimbabwe treason can be committed by
citizens and by non-citizens ordinarily resident in the country.
The Obligation to Perform Military Service when Required: Arising out of their duty
to be loyal to their State, citizens are expected to perform military service in defence
of the State when called upon to do so. Again, this duty extends beyond citizens. In
Zimbabwe, although in practice there is no national service in the form of military
conscription, the National Service Act remains in force and it imposes obligations on
all residents, whether citizens or not.
The Duty to Obey the Laws of the State: Citizens have a duty to obey the laws of
their State but once again this duty is imposed equally on citizens and non-citizens.
There is probably no law in Zimbabwe, apart from laws relating to elections, that
apply only to citizens.
The Duty to Pay Taxes: Just as citizens and non-citizens must obey the laws of a
State, so must they pay taxes to the State, because tax laws are not imposed on the
basis of citizenship. Liability to tax usually depends on the taxpayer’s residence or on
the nature of the transaction that is being taxed. Sometimes, as in the case of VAT,
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