Keywords:
- Six prominent critics lose Zambian passports
- Gazette cites national-security concerns
- Legal basis faces growing scrutiny
ZAMBIA’S government has cancelled the passports of six prominent citizens, including former diplomat Emmanuel Mwamba and academic Sishuwa Sishuwa, citing national-security concerns as President Hakainde Hichilema’s administration faces renewed scrutiny over political freedoms following an August election marred by serious irregularities.
The cancellations were published in the Government Gazette on September 11, 2026, under Notice No. 1421 of 2026. The notice itself was dated September 7. The decision has turned what might otherwise have been an administrative measure into a broader test of Zambia’s rule of law.
Six passports cancelled
The six affected citizens are Mwamba, a former ambassador to Ethiopia and former permanent representative to the African Union; historian and academic Sishuwa; former lawmakers Emmanuel Jay Banda and Binwell Mpundu; former State House special assistant Kaizer Zulu; and blogger Lillian Mutambo.
According to the Gazette notice and reports by state broadcaster ZNBC, their passports were cancelled for ‘security reasons in the interest of national security’.
Authorities have advised government agencies, financial institutions, border-control officials, law-enforcement bodies and other organisations not to accept, recognise or rely on the cancelled documents.
The notice also warns that any use of the documents may constitute an offence and directs anyone possessing them to surrender them immediately to the relevant authorities.
What has not been publicly detailed is the specific security allegation applying to each of the six individuals.
That distinction matters because Zambia’s passport legislation sets out particular circumstances under which a passport may be confiscated or cancelled.
What does Zambian law allow?
Under Zambia’s Passports Act No. 28 of 2016, the Chief Passports and Citizenship Officer may confiscate or cancel passports under specified circumstances.
These include cases involving fraud, wrongful possession of a passport, an outstanding arrest warrant combined with a risk that the person may abscond, or a court order restricting the holder’s movement.
The law also provides for cancellation in circumstances involving loss of citizenship, passport fraud or forgery and convictions for certain serious offences.
What the relevant provisions do not expressly identify is a general, standalone ground simply described as ‘national security’.
That does not, on its own, establish that the six cancellations are unlawful.
The government may possess warrants, court orders or other information capable of bringing particular individuals within one of the statutory grounds provided by the Act.
But the Gazette notice, as publicly reported, does not identify which statutory provision applies to each passport holder.
Section 12 of the Act requires the passport authority to inform an affected holder of the cancellation and provide reasons within 14 days.
The legislation also gives an affected passport holder 21 days after cancellation to surrender the document, while the Gazette notice reportedly directs those affected to surrender their passports immediately.
The Act further provides for an appeal to the Minister and, subsequently, to the High Court.
Those provisions could become particularly important should any of the six challenge the decision.
Amnesty condemns cancellations
Amnesty International has sharply criticised the action, describing the passport cancellations as arbitrary and accusing the authorities of using administrative powers to silence critics.
Vongai Chikwanda, Amnesty International’s Deputy Regional Director for East and Southern Africa, said: ‘The arbitrary cancellation of passports by Zambian authorities is a violation of international human rights law.’
Amnesty argued that using citizenship documents against dissidents, activists or political opponents would breach freedom-of-movement protections under Article 12 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights.
The organisation also noted that political criticism or opposition to the government is not, in itself, a stated ground for passport cancellation under Zambia’s legislation.
Those are Amnesty’s legal and human-rights assessments rather than findings by a Zambian court.
Amnesty called on the authorities to reverse the cancellations, restore the passports and remedy any harm caused. It linked the move to what it described as a wider post-election crackdown involving opposition members and other government critics.
The passport controversy therefore lands in an already tense political environment.
Election flaws deepen concerns
Hichilema was sworn in for a second term on September 1 following the August 13 presidential election.
The European Union Election Observation Mission said election day was generally calm and voting was conducted efficiently, but found that restrictions on campaigning and advantages associated with incumbency contributed to an uneven playing field.
Concerns intensified during the results process.
The EU mission said the conduct of tabulation deteriorated significantly after the Electoral Commission of Zambia temporarily suspended counting and the announcement of results on August 14.
Observers recorded failures to promptly enter announced results on tally sheets, extended interruptions to tabulation and a heavy military presence at some totalling centres. The EU later said serious incidents and procedural irregularities had affected the transparency and credibility of the process.
Independent domestic monitoring also identified significant discrepancies.
The Christian Churches Monitoring Group deployed observers to a nationally representative sample of 1,500 polling stations and estimated Hichilema’s vote at 56.0 percent, with a margin of error of 1.7 percentage points. It estimated Brian Mundubile’s support at 42.3 percent, also with a 1.7-point margin.
CCMG said the official presidential results fell outside its estimated ranges and identified 30 constituencies where votes appeared to have been added, artificially increasing turnout and benefiting the ruling UPND.
Crucially, however, the monitoring group concluded that the discrepancies did not change the winner.
Its independent estimate still showed Hichilema receiving the most votes and more than the 50 percent required to avoid a run-off.
Africa Briefing previously examined how irregularities surrounding Zambia’s election complicated Hichilema’s return to office.
The distinction is important: serious questions remain about the integrity of aspects of the official tally, but the available independent monitoring does not indicate that Mundubile won the presidential election.
Opposition leaders remain detained
The political climate has become still more contentious following the arrest and prosecution of Mundubile and his running mate, Makebi Zulu.
Zambia Police initially questioned the two over an alleged treason offence on August 27.
They were subsequently formally charged with treason alongside 16 others, according to police and lawyers representing some of the accused, and transferred to Mukobeko Maximum Security Correctional Facility in Kabwe.
The allegations remain unproven and will ultimately have to be determined through the courts.
On September 11, Zambia Police announced that Mundubile and Zulu had also been formally arrested and jointly charged with seditious practices under Section 57 of the Penal Code.
Police said the two were returned to Mukobeko pending further procedures and their appearance before court.
Their prosecution followed earlier security operations involving opposition figures, which Africa Briefing covered in its report on how post-election arrests intensified Zambia’s political tensions.
Africa Briefing also reported on the temporary closure of Zambia’s highest courts during a crucial election-petition period, another episode that fuelled questions about institutional independence.
Democratic record under scrutiny
The passport cancellations therefore carry significance beyond the travel rights of six citizens.
Hichilema came to power in 2021 after defeating Edgar Lungu and was widely associated with a democratic transition following years in which opposition leaders, including Hichilema himself, had faced arrest and prosecution.
That history makes the current moment especially sensitive.
The key issue is whether Zambia’s government can demonstrate that the restrictions imposed on the six passport holders are supported by clearly identifiable statutory grounds, applied individually and capable of meaningful judicial scrutiny.
If the authorities can do so, the government will have a stronger legal defence against accusations that it is using administrative powers politically.
If they cannot, the cancellations risk reinforcing concerns that post-election security measures are narrowing the space for dissent.
For Zambia, the larger issue is no longer simply the fate of six passports.
It is whether the country can preserve the institutional safeguards and political freedoms that have underpinned its reputation for peaceful democratic transitions while navigating a deeply polarised post-election period.
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