Zambia: By cancelling passports, authorities are using administrative powers to silence critics

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Responding to reports that the Zambian authorities have cancelled the passports of former Zambian Ambassador to Ethiopia and former Permanent Representative to the African Union Emmanuel Mwamba, historian and academic Dr Sishuwa Sishuwa, former opposition Members of Parliament Binwell Mpundu and Emmanuel Jay Banda, former State House Special Assistant Kaizer Zulu, and blogger Lillian Mutambo on 11 September, 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. By weaponizing citizenship documents to target dissidents, activists, or political opponents, authorities explicitly breach the right to freedom of movement enshrined in Article 12 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, ICCPR.

“This is deeply concerning, particularly given the wider post-election crackdown on dissent, including arbitrary arrests and detention of members of the opposition and other government critics.

“The decision to cancel these passports effectively strips these individuals of their legal and social identity and traps them in a state of de facto statelessness. It undermines their dignity and basic civil protections.

“Amnesty International calls on the Zambian authorities to revoke these passport cancellations, restore these individuals’ passports and remedy any harm resulting from this unlawful decision.”

Background

Amnesty International has documented a rapid deterioration in the human rights situation in the country in the run-up to, during and after the general elections, marked by arbitrary arrests and detention, as well as attacks and intimidation targeting human rights defenders, activists, journalists and opposition political party members. As electoral tensions intensified, these violations were followed by further arrests of opposition members. The killing of former Cabinet Minister Mutotwe Kafwaya during a security operation marked a further escalation of the crackdown.

On 11 September, the Zambian authorities issued a notice cancelling passports belonging to several government critics “in the interest of national security.”

Under Zambia’s Passports and Citizenship legislation, the cancellation of a passport is permitted only on specified grounds, including loss of citizenship, obtaining a passport through fraud or misrepresentation, certain forms of passport fraud, specified convictions and death. Political criticism or opposition to the government is not, in itself, a stated ground for cancellation.

Distributed by APO Group on behalf of Amnesty International.

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