CELESTINE MUKANDILA DEFENDS HIS ZAMBIAN CITIZENSHIP, MY PARENTS ARE FULL ZAMBIAN
CELESTINE DEFENDS HIS ZAMBIAN CITIZENSHIP, MY PARENTS ARE FULL ZAMBIAN
TOP Zambian lawyer and renowned businessman Celestine Mukandila says he is a Zambian citizen by descent, having been born in Lubumbashi in 1990 to a Zambian mother and Congolese father.
Mukandila who is also Brian MUNDUBILE’S secretary general argues that Article 36 of the Zambian Constitution recognises citizenship by descent for people born outside Zambia where at least one parent was a Zambian citizen by birth or descent.
He says his National Registration Card (NRC) was obtained when he was about 16 and questions why he is now being accused of fraud over documentation obtained while he was a minor.
Mukandila further points out that he previously served as a Zambian civil servant and underwent government vetting, while national registration authorities had also recognised and issued him official documents.
He is demanding that authorities explain the legal basis for cancelling his NRC and passport, identify the alleged fraud, provide evidence, state which authority made the decision, and explain what due process and opportunity to be heard were given to him
He also questions the apparent involvement of a Permanent Secretary, arguing that public officials must exercise powers strictly within the law.
Mukandila says the matter goes beyond his individual case, warning that citizenship should not be used as a political weapon against people who hold opposing political views.
He says he is willing to have the matter determined through the courts but insists that the law, evidence and due process must prevail over political expediency.
He writes:
MY POSITION ON MY ZAMBIAN CITIZENSHIP, NATIONAL REGISTRATION, POLITICAL INTEGRITY AND THE RULE OF LAW
I wish to put the facts concerning my nationality, my political participation and the circumstances surrounding the cancellation of my National Registration Card and Passport on record.
I was born in 1990 in Lubumbashi, in the Democratic Republic of Congo. My mother was a Zambian citizen at the time of my birth. My father was a Congolese citizen.
My mother is Ushi by origin, from Matanda Village in Mansa. My maternal family has deep roots in Luapula Province, with my family lineage extending through Matanda and Mununga.
The fact that I was born outside Zambia does not, in itself, make me a foreigner. Zambia’s constitutional framework expressly recognises citizenship by descent. Article 36 of the Constitution provides for citizenship by descent where the constitutional requirements are satisfied.
My position is therefore straightforward: I acquired Zambian citizenship by descent at birth through my Zambian mother. I did not apply to become Zambian as an adult, nor did I obtain my citizenship through naturalisation.
This distinction is fundamental.
It is therefore deeply troubling that an attempt is now apparently being made to question my nationality by attacking the circumstances under which I obtained my National Registration Card when I was a minor.
I was approximately 16 years old when I became eligible for national registration. I was a child. I did not independently create my family history, determine my nationality, or manufacture the circumstances of my birth.
If the State alleges that fraud was committed in the acquisition of my NRC, then it must identify the alleged fraudulent representation, identify who made it, establish who had the legal responsibility for making the relevant declarations at the time, and demonstrate the lawful basis upon which I, as a minor, can now be personally accused of fraud in circumstances where my nationality was derived from my Zambian parent.
My family returned to Zambia in 1999. My mother nevertheless continued to spend periods in the Democratic Republic of Congo because of her employment, while remaining a Zambian citizen. The fact that a Zambian citizen worked or lived outside Zambia cannot, without more, transform that citizen into a foreign national.
What makes the present situation even more difficult to understand is that I have previously served as a Civil Servant of the Republic of Zambia. In that capacity, I was subjected to the vetting and verification processes applicable to persons entering the public service. My nationality was not treated as an obstacle to my employment by the State.
The National Registration authorities themselves have previously recognised me and issued me with national documentation.
One must therefore ask a simple question:
If there was genuinely a fundamental defect in my nationality or national registration, why was this not raised during the various occasions when the Zambian State had the opportunity and responsibility to verify my status?
And why is this question arising now?
I am particularly concerned by the apparent involvement of a Permanent Secretary in the process of issuing or causing the issuance of a Gazette notice affecting my national documents.
Public officers exercise statutory powers; they do not exercise personal powers. Every decision affecting a citizen must have a clear legal foundation, must be taken by the person or institution legally authorised to take it, and must comply with the requirements of procedural fairness and due process.
A Gazette notice cannot itself become a substitute for the law.
If the State believes that I ceased to be a Zambian citizen, it must identify the constitutional and statutory provision under which that occurred. If it alleges that I fraudulently acquired citizenship, it must identify the alleged fraud and follow the procedure prescribed by law. If it merely disputes the validity of my NRC or Passport, that is a separate question from whether I am constitutionally a Zambian citizen.
These distinctions matter because a National Registration Card is evidence of identity and registration; it is not what created my citizenship by descent.
MY POLITICAL PARTICIPATION
I also wish to place on record the principles that have guided my participation in politics.
My political participation has been grounded in integrity, constitutionalism, democracy and the rule of law.
I have never entered politics with the intention of injuring another person. I have never intentionally sought to destroy another person’s reputation, character or dignity. Equally, I have never set out, whether intentionally or unintentionally, to cause harm to any individual.
My interventions in public affairs have been motivated by a belief that Zambia belongs to all of us and that our political institutions must be protected for the benefit of present and future generations.
My objective has always been to defend the Constitution, strengthen democracy, promote accountability and uphold the rule of law.
I have consistently believed that political disagreement should never translate into personal hatred or persecution.
I have also endeavoured to promote unity of purpose amongst all 73 ethnic groupings of our country. It is in furtherance of this belief that I adopted the motto:
“MUKANDILA NABAKWE 73.”
The message behind this motto is simple: Zambia must remain one nation, united in its diversity, with every ethnic community having an equal stake in the country’s future.
I therefore reject any attempt to portray my political participation as an effort to divide Zambians or to promote hostility between communities. My political philosophy is precisely the opposite.
I believe that our diversity should be a source of strength rather than a weapon for political mobilisation.
THIS IS NOT THE POLITICS I SUBSCRIBED TO
I never imagined that our country could reach a point where political disagreement could be accompanied by this level of abuse of State power.
This is definitely not what I subscribed to when I chose to participate in politics.
Politics should be about ideas, policies, principles and competing visions for the future of our country. It should not be about destroying the lives, reputations, livelihoods or citizenship of political opponents.
There must still be some measure of morality in the way we conduct our politics.
Morality must at least be applied, even to the least degree, in the practice of our politics.
We cannot build a democratic Zambia by normalising the abuse of public institutions against those who hold different political opinions.
We cannot speak about constitutionalism while disregarding constitutional protections.
We cannot preach the rule of law while allowing administrative power to be exercised arbitrarily.
And we cannot build national unity while politics is used to profile, intimidate or malign citizens on the basis of their ancestry, place of birth or political opinions.
My appeal is therefore not merely personal.
It is an appeal for the preservation of the Zambia that we all claim to believe in.
A Zambia where a citizen is protected by the Constitution regardless of where he or she was born.
A Zambia where political differences do not make citizens enemies of the State.
A Zambia where public institutions serve the law rather than political interests.
A Zambia where every citizen is entitled to due process.
And a Zambia where disagreement is not punished but recognised as an essential part of democracy.
If there are genuine questions concerning my nationality, I am prepared to have those questions determined through the proper legal and judicial processes.
What I cannot accept is a situation in which my nationality is effectively determined administratively, without transparent due process, and where official documents that I have held for years are suddenly treated as though they were obtained through fraud merely because I was born outside Zambia.
I remain confident that the Constitution and the courts of Zambia will ultimately protect the principle that no public authority is above the law and no citizen should be deprived of rights without lawful authority and due process.
The issue is therefore not whether I demand special treatment.
I demand only what every citizen is entitled to demand:
Let the law be followed. Let the evidence be produced. Let due process be respected. Let morality guide our politics. And let the rule of law prevail over political expediency.
Celestin Mambula Mukandila_Esq.