The fight over Celestine Mukandila's citizenship has reached a procedural fork. In arguments filed in the Lusaka High Court and reported by Zambia Monitor on Saturday 24 October and by News Diggers on Friday 23 October, Attorney-General Mulilo Kabesha asked the court to dismiss, with costs, Mukandila's application for leave to begin judicial review of the Government's cancellation of his national registration card and passport.
The documents were cancelled by Government Gazette Notice No. 1418 of 2026, dated 2 September and issued by the Ministry of Home Affairs and Internal Security, on grounds of alleged fraud, false declaration or misrepresentation, according to Zambia Monitor. The State's position is that the matter is incompetently before the High Court: Mukandila, it argues, should first have appealed to the relevant Minister or Permanent Secretary, the court's unlimited original jurisdiction does not allow a litigant to bypass a procedure set by statute, and judicial review cannot be used to avoid a statutory appeal without exceptional circumstances.
Mukandila's case
Mukandila, the secretary-general of the Tonse Alliance and a legal practitioner, says he is a Zambian citizen by descent through his Zambian mother, although he was born in the Democratic Republic of Congo. Zambia Monitor reported that his citizenship was recognised by the Zambian Consulate General in Lubumbashi in 1999 and by the National Registration Office in 2017, and that he argues the cancellation was unlawful because he was given no prior notice, no hearing and no written reasons. His central legal point is that the National Registration Act, Chapter 126 of the Laws of Zambia, does not permit an NRC to be cancelled administratively by Gazette notice. He asks for leave to proceed and for a stay of the notice while the case is decided.
The detail of his account is in his affidavit, as summarised by Zambia Monitor when the case was filed on 11 September: born in Lubumbashi on 20 February 1990 while his grandfather was on a diplomatic posting, his late mother a Zambian from Mansa District, the family's return to Zambia in 1999, registration with the National Registration Office in 2006 at the age of 16, and a 2017 query about his NRC while he worked at the Road Transport and Safety Agency that, he says, ended with a letter confirming the card was authentic. He seeks orders of certiorari to quash the notice, mandamus to restore his documents and a declaration that he is a citizen by descent.
How the case got here
News Diggers reported on 26 September that the High Court had stayed the cancellation of the NRC and passport and that Mukandila, who had been arrested by the Department of Immigration in August after a report about his status, had been released on constitutional bail, according to his lawyer, Patrick Chulu. Zambia Monitor described him as detained when the application was filed.
Confirmed vs. alleged
Confirmed: That Gazette Notice No. 1418 of 2026 cancelled Mukandila's NRC and passport, that he has applied for leave for judicial review in the Lusaka High Court, and that the Attorney-General has asked for the application to be dismissed on the ground that a statutory appeal should have come first, is reported by both Zambia Monitor and News Diggers.
Alleged or unverified: The Government's allegation of fraud, false declaration or misrepresentation is untested; Mukandila denies it and says his citizenship was previously recognised. Neither outlet names the judge, gives the date of the ruling on leave, or reports whether the September stay remains in force pending that ruling.
Sources: Zambia Monitor, “Attorney General agues Mukandila should have appealed NRC, passport cancellation before going to court” (24 Oct 2026); News Diggers, “Mukandila should've first appealed citizenship to minister – AG” (23 Oct 2026); Zambia Monitor, “Mukandila challenges cancellation of NRC, passport in court” (11 Sep 2026); News Diggers, “Court halts cancellation of Mukandila's citizenship” (26 Sep 2026).