CELESTINE MUKANDILA SEEKS COURT ORDER TO QUASH NRC AND PASSPORT CANCELLATION

MUKANDILA SEEKS COURT ORDER TO QUASH NRC AND PASSPORT CANCELLATION Opposition Tonse-Pamodzi Alliance Secretary General Celestin Mukandila has applied for leave for judicial review in the Lusaka High Court, seeking to quash Government Gazette Notice No. 1418 of 2026 dated September 2026, which purports to cancel and invalidate his National Registration Card-NRC- and Zambian passport. […]

MUKANDILA SEEKS COURT ORDER TO QUASH NRC AND PASSPORT CANCELLATION

Opposition Tonse-Pamodzi Alliance Secretary General Celestin Mukandila has applied for leave for judicial review in the Lusaka High Court, seeking to quash Government Gazette Notice No. 1418 of 2026 dated September 2026, which purports to cancel and invalidate his National Registration Card-NRC- and Zambian passport.

According to Mr. Mukandila, the purported cancellation of his NRC has no statutory basis and is unlawful under the National Registration Act, Chapter 126 of the Laws of Zambia, which he says does not confer powers on any officer or authority to cancel an NRC through a Gazette Notice.

In his affidavit, Mr. Mukandila states that he was born on February 20, 1990, in Lubumbashi, Democratic Republic of Congo, to a Zambian mother, Marie Musa Louise, who retained her Zambian citizenship while living in the DRC, while his grandfather, Alam Chabwilo, was also a Zambian citizen and served on a diplomatic mission for the Zambian Ministry of Foreign Affairs in the DRC.

Mr. Mukandila says he returned to Zambia with his family in 1999 and was issued a Zambian NRC in 2006 after registering with the National Registration Office, adding that questions surrounding the authenticity of his NRC arose during his employment with the Road Transport and Safety Agency in 2017, but was subsequently verified by the National Registration Office.

He is asking the court to compel authorities to restore his Zambian passport and NRC as valid and subsisting documents, and for a declaration that he is a Zambian citizen by descent through his late Zambian mother in accordance with the Constitution of Zambia.

Mr. Mukandila is also seeking an order declaring Gazette Notice No. 1418 of 2026 unlawful and of no effect, and to stay its implementation pending determination of the judicial review application.

By Nelson Zulu