“I man born yah”.

That was the declaration from Opposition Leader Mark Golding on Saturday, as he moved to clear the air after questions were raised by members of the governing Jamaica Labour Party (JLP) this week, about his nationality.

In a post on social media, Golding stated that “I am a born Jamaican and have a Jamaican passport”.

Golding, who had previously stated that his father was born in the United Kingdom, added that “I’ve never hidden the fact that my father, who came to Jamaica from the UK, had got me a British passport when I was a young child”.

He said he has travelled on his Jamaican passport from before he started serving in government (he previously served as minister of justice in the Portia Simpson Miller-led Administration from 2012-2016 and before that in the Senate).

On Friday, St Catherine South West Member of Parliament, the JLP’s Everald Warmington, urged Golding to state whether he was a British citizen. According to Warmington, given Golding’s recent support for dual citizens being allowed to sit in Parliament, he had a moral obligation to clear the air on the matter.

READ: PNP president has ‘moral obligation’ to say whether he is a British citizen – Warmington

In pushing for the Caribbean Court of Justice to be made Jamaica’s final appellate court, Golding also stated that it should not be a case where Jamaica has “one foot in and one foot out of King Charles’ yard”.

Those comments triggered several calls on social media for Golding to declare whether he’s both a Jamaican and British citizen, with even entertainer Mr Vegas urging him to do so.

In an audio-recorded statement on Friday, Warmginton said Golding should offer an answer so that Jamaicans may evaluate his posture concerning the issue of dual citizenship and the island becoming a Republic.

The Supreme Court ruled a few years ago that it’s lawful for Jamaicans who are also citizens of countries in the Commonwealth to be parliamentarians. But Warmington said given that he aspires to lead Jamaica, Golding has a moral dilemma if he is a citizen of Britain.

Golding responded on his social media pages on Saturday.

He said: “Like other Jamaicans, I apply for visas from countries such as the US and UK to go there.

“I man born yah, but the Local Government Elections and recent polls seem to be driving some to grasp at straws”.

The questions about Golding’s nationality were raised against the background of him reiterating the position of the People’s National Party (PNP) that it would not support Jamaica ditching the Monarchy and King Charles as Jamaica’s head of state, if it retains the UK Privy Council as Jamaica’s final appellate court.

This has effectively derailed the constitutional reform process as, while the PNP insists that it will support Jamaica becoming a republic, it said it will only do so if the government also accepts the Caribbean Court of Justice as the country’s final appellate court. The government has said that matter would be addressed in the second phase of the reform process but the opposition is not budging.

Golding also addressed the constitutional reform process on Saturday. He noted that Jamaica’s current constitution requires Commonwealth citizens to have at least one year’s residence in Jamaica in order to be eligible to be a parliamentarian.

“Over the years, parliamentary candidates with Commonwealth passports have therefore legitimately participated in general elections to become MPs and sat in the Senate,” Golding said.

He noted that the current constitution also prohibits non-Commonwealth citizens who have pledged foreign allegiance from being parliamentarians.

Of note is that several sitting JLP MPs who held dual United States and Jamaican citizenship were booted from the Parliament, forced to renounce their US citizenship and only made it back to Gordon House having contested and won by-elections.

West Portland MP Daryl Vaz had to contest a by-election in 2009 and Warmington in 2011 to retain their seats in the House of Representatives.

Golding said the constitutional reform process should reconsider the current rule and make it accord with the realities of the Jamaican experience.