Chief Responds to Claims Over Mukandila’s Zambian Identity

Chief Sokontwe of the Ushi-speaking people in Milenge District, Luapula Province, has dismissed allegations that Tonse-Pamodzi Alliance Secretary General Celestine Mukandila is not Zambian, saying the lawyer and opposition politician was born in his chiefdom on 20 February 1990.

Mukandila was recently arrested by Zambia's Department of Immigration at his home in Mapepe, Chilanga, and his immigration status is currently under review, the Department has confirmed, saying it is investigating a report concerning his status in the country. Separate reporting has suggested authorities are examining claims that Mukandila may previously have used a different identity, allegedly linked to the Democratic Republic of Congo, and that he may have obtained his Zambian documents improperly.

THE TIMING RAISES QUESTIONS

The arrest lands at a particularly sensitive moment for the Tonse-Pamodzi Alliance. As Secretary General, Mukandila has been one of the most prominent and legally active figures pushing the alliance's position that the 13 August election was mishandled, publishing his own signed appeal for "constitutional order and integrity" days before his arrest and repeatedly framing the case for a court challenge in public statements. He is widely regarded within the alliance as central to the process of pursuing the Constitutional Court petition that presidential candidate Brian Mundubile has said he intends to file, with the seven-day filing window closing on Monday, 24 August.

Mundubile has separately accused the state of working to derail his planned petition as that deadline approaches. Mukandila's detention over an unrelated immigration question, days before that deadline, has therefore raised questions among alliance supporters and observers about the timing, even though MUVI has found no direct evidence linking the two matters, and Immigration has not suggested any connection between its investigation and the pending petition.

Addressing the nationality allegations specifically, Chief Sokontwe said Mukandila only travelled to Congo because of his parents' work, and that he and his family later returned from Congo to Zambia. The chief added that Mukandila's mother belongs to the Abena Mfula, the rain clan, tracing her lineage to Chief Mununga in Nchelenge District, further grounding Mukandila's family origins within Zambia's Luapula Province.

WHERE THE ALLEGATIONS STAND

Immigration authorities have not publicly detailed the specific evidence behind their investigation, nor confirmed whether Mukandila faces any formal charge. MUVI has not independently verified either the original allegations regarding his identity and documentation, or Chief Sokontwe's account of his birth and family history, and is reporting both as competing claims pending the outcome of the Department's investigation.

The case is unfolding against a tense post-election backdrop, alongside other cases MUVI has covered in the same period, including the detention of Brian Mundubile and Makebi Zulu for questioning, and the treason-related case connected to the Kabulonga security operation. Immigration has said its investigation into Mukandila's status continues.