ActionSA asks Leon Schreiber to reject Phil Craig’s citizenship application

ActionSA parliamentary chief whip Lerato Ngobeni has called on home affairs minister Leon Schreiber to reject a citizenship application by Cape Independence Advocacy Group (CIAG) co-founder Phil Craig.

This comes after Craig revealed that he has been struggling to get his South African citizenship, The Citizen reported.

“Like many people in South Africa, I have struggled for many years with dysfunction at the department of home affairs,” Craig said. “It is ironic that the president would use my lack of citizenship against me despite me being entitled to citizenship and attempting to claim it when the well-recorded inefficiencies of his government are the reason I don’t have it.”

Craig, who is British, has been living in South Africa for more than 20 years as a permanent resident.

Ngobeni argued that Craig does not have a good enough character to be granted citizenship, citing his advocacy for the secession of the Western Cape.

“ActionSA is of the view that any individual who advocates for the secession of the Western Cape and actively undermines the unity of the republic is not an individual of good character,” Ngobeni said.

“Moreover, he clearly does not wish to reside in the republic. ActionSA believes that any individual who sows such disunity among South Africans and who clearly wishes for the Western Cape not be part of the republic should certainly not be given the privilege of being given South African citizenship as he clearly wishes not to be part of a unified South Africa.”

The CIAG plans to visit the US in April to meet US officials to request diplomatic support for Cape independence.

Craig said, “It was clear from the outset that the new US administration was going to take a fundamentally different approach to South Africa than had previous administrations, and that this was potentially going to be very helpful for Cape independence, which requires some degree of international support to be successful.”

A petition calling for Craig’s deportation has generated more than 49,000 signatures.

“His actions are reminiscent of the apartheid era, threatening to tear apart the unity we have fought so hard to establish. It is unacceptable that an outsider seeks to disrupt our peace and harmony,” the petition reads. “We cannot allow individuals like Craig who do not understand or respect this diversity undermine our unity and progress towards racial harmony. His deportation back to England will send a clear message that divisive ideologies are not welcome here.”