Haimbe Defends Cancellation of Six Passports as Mutambo’s Lawyers Give Government Seven Days

Foreign Affairs Minister Mulambo Haimbe has defended the Government’s decision to cancel the passports of six Zambians living abroad, saying the move does not violate their rights, while lawyers for one of them, content creator Lillian Mutambo, have demanded her passport back…

Foreign Affairs Minister Mulambo Haimbe has defended the Government’s decision to cancel the passports of six Zambians living abroad, saying the move does not violate their rights, while lawyers for one of them, content creator Lillian Mutambo, have demanded her passport back within seven days or face court action.

Mr Haimbe spoke in an interview in New York, on the sidelines of the 81st United Nations General Assembly. He said the cancellations took effect on 11 September because the holders violated the conditions under which the passports were issued, and stressed that withdrawing a passport does not equate to loss of citizenship.

“The cancellation of a passport does not amount to cancellation of citizenship; it does not amount to taking away the right of an individual other than the use of a passport to access foreign countries,” he said.

The six affected are former Ambassador to Ethiopia Emmanuel Mwamba, former Members of Parliament Binwell Mpundu and Emmanuel Banda, former presidential adviser Kaiser Zulu, academic Sishuwa Sishuwa and Ms Mutambo, whom the minister described as a social media commentator.

The minister singled out Mr Banda, the former Petauke MP, as the clearest case. He described him as a known felon who escaped lawful custody in Zambia while facing criminal charges, and alleged that he continued committing offences using platforms abroad.

“In those circumstances, every nation of this world is entitled to use legal means available to ensure that the individual comes and answers to the charges and criminal allegations before a court of competent jurisdiction,” Mr Haimbe said.

He said the Government exercised its discretion to withdraw Mr Banda’s passport, and then cancelled those of the other five because they also needed to answer questions within Zambia’s jurisdiction.

Mr Haimbe used the same interview to reject wider claims about the political climate. He dismissed assertions that arrests recorded after the general election were politically motivated, saying they were based on allegations of criminal conduct. Suspects, he said, had been granted access to lawyers and families in line with Zambia Correctional Service regulations, and every citizen remained innocent until proven guilty before a competent court.

On the election result, he said President Hakainde Hichilema secured more than three million votes against about 1.9 million for Brian Mundubile, and questioned how such a margin could be branded irregular. He said Zambia had been working on a national peace architecture since 2021 and was moving towards concluding an effective framework to ensure peace prevails at all times.

Ms Mutambo’s lawyers see the passport decision very differently. Aongola & Co, acting for the UK-based content creator, wrote on 21 September to the Chief Passports and Citizenship Officer, copying the Registrar General and the Attorney General. They said the passport was cancelled under Government Gazette Notice No. 1421 of 2026, dated 11 September, on unspecified “security reasons”.

“Our Client’s position is that the decision, and the manner in which it was made and communicated, is unlawful, ultra vires, procedurally improper and unconstitutional,” the firm said.

The lawyers said the power to cancel a passport is a statutory power that must be exercised strictly within the Passport Act No. 28 of 2016. They pointed to Section 12(1), which vests that power in the Chief Passports and Citizenship Officer, and noted that the Gazette Notice appears to attribute the cancellation to the Registrar General. They demanded that the Government identify any provision, delegation or instrument under which the Registrar General could exercise it.

They also said the Act sets out specific grounds for confiscation and cancellation, including wrongful possession, fraud or misrepresentation, deportation or repatriation at Government expense, and a warrant of arrest coupled with a risk of absconding. The decision-maker, they said, must name the ground relied on and the facts that bring Ms Mutambo within it. If national security is claimed as an independent ground, the lawyers asked the Government to cite the exact section, subsection and paragraph.

On reasons, the firm cited Section 12(2), which it said requires a passport holder to be informed of a cancellation and given reasons within 14 days.

“Our Client has not been furnished with adequate written reasons identifying the factual and statutory basis for the cancellation. A bare reference to ‘security reasons’ does not, in our Client’s estimation, satisfy the statutory and constitutional requirement for reasons,” the lawyers said.

The firm said the cancellation also interferes with Ms Mutambo’s freedom of movement under Article 22 of the Constitution, which protects the right of citizens to leave and return to Zambia. They acknowledged that the Constitution allows restrictions in the interests of defence, public safety and public order, but said any restriction must have a lawful statutory basis. They added that the decision can be challenged for illegality, procedural impropriety, failure to consider relevant matters and unreasonableness, and that Ms Mutambo was not given an adequate opportunity to make representations before it was taken.

Aongola & Co want the Government to withdraw the cancellation, restore and recognise the passport as valid, and confirm that she will face no adverse immigration, passport, border-control or other administrative consequences.

“We trust that you will treat this matter with the urgency warranted by the continuing infringement of our Client’s rights,” the lawyers said.

The seven days run from receipt of the letter, and the firm has said legal proceedings will follow without further notice if the passport is not restored.