Thursday, March 28, 2024

Zambian woman with Dual-Citizenship detained and denied bail in Kitwe

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Immigration Officer
Immigration Officer

Lusaka Magistrate Willie Banda yesterday refused to grant bail to a Zambia business woman on grounds that she has more than one passport.

Rosemary Mwasakandu aged 49, a resident of Kitwe’s Parklands area appeared in the Lusaka Magistrate Court for plea on a matter where she is accused of being in possession of more than one passport without authority contrary to section 55 of the Immigration and Deportation Act number 18 of 2010 of the laws of Zambia.

Mwasakandu a Zambian by birth is believed to have been married to Mr. Abdoulaye Ndiaye a Canadian and Senegalese national in 1996 but later divorced in 2006.

After denying the charge before magistrate Banda, Mwasakandu made an application for bail saying she had been in police custody from the day she was arrested.

In passing ruling on the application Magistrate Banda told the court that it was not easy to trace Mwasakandu in this case due to the controversy surrounding her passports.

However, Mwasakandus’ lawyer Andy Wright argued that there was no law in Zambia that prohibits women to adopt the nationality of their husbands if they were married to a foreign national whose country permits them to do so.

Mr. Wright further argued that by virtue of Mwasakandu being married to a Canadian man she had the right to have a Canadian nationality and passport bearing her husband’s sir name.

He added that according to the Tanzanian investment laws, when an investor is considered as a major investor they are entitled to acquire the Tanzanian nationality.

He said there was nothing complicated in the matter adding that Mwasakandu was her father’s name and Ndiaye was her ex-husband’s name through which she acquired the other two passports.

However, Magistrate Banda maintained his stance and denied bail to Mwasakandu.

Particulars of the offence her that Mwasakandu rosemary, a Zambian national while in Kitwe on unknown dates but between July and October 2012 did without authority for dual nationality had in possession three valid passports namely Zambian passport number ZN 291038 in her name, a Tanzanian passport number AB307945 in the names of Mwasakandu Rose Gwekabini Glynn and a Canadian passport number WS161821 in the names of Ndiaye Rosemary all with passport photos impressed on them.

Magistrate Banda further set November 1, 2012 for mention and commencement of trial on November 20 while Mwasakandu will be remanded in police custody.

ZANIS

75 COMMENTS

  1. VERY POWERFUL WOMAN, THREE PASSPORTS1! WHAT WERE THEY FOR? IN FACT SHE HAD “TRIO” AND NOT DUAL CITIZENSHIP. HOW SHE ACQUIRED THE THREE PASSPORTS STILL AMAZES ME. WHOH!

    • Don’t display your ignorance here ! Some of you have never even been to Tanzania or let alone Canada. What a banch of loosers !!!!! You will die in poverty !!!

    • The appropriate word for her status is “triple” and not “trio” which is normaly used in relation with a group of three persons.

    • There is nothing wrong in having more than two passportS. I was born in the UK. My MUM is Nigerian, my Dad is German and husband is Spanish. I am entitled to all those passports, which I do have. There is nothing wrong in having morethan two passports. By the way am an investor in South Africa and so would be having S.A. passport. S.A. allows investor to have S.A. passport after 3years. I have lived in S.A. for 4years. I have applied for my S.A. passport. So I would have five passports. Is anything wrong with that? Zambia law is just backward!!! Wake up.

    • What national security ?? All that poverty !!! Haha haaaaaaa!!! You should travel the world, maybe you can shed some of your ignorance and jeolousy !!! Ubutuutu abantu aba !!!! Cakupapa saana !!!! Ataaa !!! National Security my foot !!!!

    • Allow dual nationality and allow people from barotseland to become Zambians through the back door. For the time being while the issue of barotseland is raging, I do not support dual nationality.

  2. Spot on #4..Ubututu abantu aba.. leave the poor woman alone and yes allow dual citizenship..always backwards thinking. what a shame!

    • Either u are zambian or u not fulu stop. u can give me a green
       card i will flush it down the toilet coz am just too proud to be Zambian 

    • There is nothing wrong in having morethan one passport is just that, Zambian laws appears to be backward. Mr. Phil lets assume you are married to a British and you have lived in South Africa for 5years working there legally. By being married to a British you are automatically entitled to British passport. Also by virtue of staying legally in SA you are also entitled to S.A. passport. with your Zambia passport that’s three passport altogether Is anything wrong with that?

    • Staying in SA legally wont qualify you for passport, but a residence permit.Anyway, if you read the story it says having another passport WITHOUT authority.Zambia doesn’t allow dual citizenship hence Rose could have asked the home office for exemption.India right now is allowing descendants to have what they are calling “Life time visa”.

  3. Ukwa was boasting that Mahtani has dual citizenship when he visited the UK, where were the immigration officers?

    Mahtani has Zambian, indian and British, Mr Sata boasted about it in the meeting in London. And the immigration officers were just ndwiiiii..

  4. this is a very powerful woman, ex wife to ploygamist kitwe busines man of grizzly mining…aka pap Gunasse..looks like the woman is being fixed!

    • Oh I know Gunase in 80s and early 90s kwesu kwi Lamba,wow!
      Those are very crooked pipo she could be having a 4th passport!!

    • Is not about money sorry. It is about your right. It you are entitled to it why not? Zambia law is pure backwardness!!!! Wake up!!!!!

  5. The negative comments are pure rubbish! this is a global village, people marry people from, to quote Obama, all over the map.e.g.what
    does a child born born in zambia of 1/2 kenyan, 1/4 Indian, 1/4 somali father and a 1/2 zambian half malawian mother call themself?
    There are such people you know. And they probably qualify for citizenship in all those countries. They will never belong in any of your little tribal boxes!

    • Very true indeed…I think we as Zambians are just too backward and ignorant to the goings on  of the modern world…some of the stories and comments that follow are an embarrassment, considering these blogs are read globally…. 

  6. At the end if the day, every individual has the right to renounce their citizenship…provided, they do this in accordance to the current law. I am in favor of dual-citizenship, however, as it stands it is still ILLEGAL in Zambia to be in possession of more than 1 passport if you’re a Zambian citizen. The court is in order to deny her bail…she most certainly will catch the next flight out with either one of the other two passports that she has. BAIL DENIED!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

    It’s a doggy dog’s world!!!

    • No problem man, this story has a lot of underlined unkown facts. This lady was upto no good…and whtever it was she was upto, I hope the relevant authorities investigate. Again, its her entitlement…here in CANADA, they don;t even ask when you’re getting your citizenship if you’ll renounce your current nationality. I still have my Zed passport…LOL, until one day!

  7. kashi what can I do. I am married to a foreigner, and my daughter will have a foreign passport with my zambian name and when I come to Zambia, I want her to be zambian. Ba PF is to blame for non progressive acts.

  8. @ Dr Bwa bwa Mbushi. Quote: ‘contrary to section 55 of the Immigration and Deportation Act number 18 of 2010 of the laws of Zambia.’ Was PF in power then? Don’t just blame the current govt for everything. 

  9. I think we as Zambians are just too backward and ignorant to the goings on  of the modern world…some of the stories and comments that follow are an embarrassment, considering these blogs are read globally…. 

  10. She better get a very very good lawyer, because its not looking good for her right now. As I said before, every individual is entitled to change citizenship, provided they are eligible to do so. In this lady’s case, there’s yet to be a provision in our Zambian law that makes this option available. This is the dilemna she’s currently facing. Unfortunately, she was caught, in Zambia for that matter. The law is surely not on her side…regardless of the number of passports she has…hell, it could be more than 3. The fact is, she’s not entitled to have more than 1 Zambian passport (IN ZAMBIA) and not Canada or Tanzania. See, most people with multiple passports attract attention to themselves. I use my Zed passport when in Zed and use my Canadian one when flying into Canada. Chapwa!

  11. Geez,zambia is very retrogressive at a time when the world is competing for the best brains thus allowing dual citizenship.Prosecuting this lady doesn’t make sense since zambian immigration is corrupt to the core anyway and anybody can get zambian documents at a price.A terrorist can waltz straight into zed for a price to immigration .

  12. The only thing this magistrate can convict her for, is NOT HAVING A VALID ZAMBIAN VISA in her foreign passports!!! Zambian Law strips you of citizenship BUT DOES NOT PROHIBIT YOU FROM HAVING FOREIGN PASSPORTS, no matter how many!!!!

  13. What makes this magistrate think she didn’t obtain these passports with authority??? As long as they are not FORGED, & SHE DID OBTAIN THEM FROM THE PROPER AUTHORITIES, this magistrate is wasting everyones time!!!!!!

    • Please read before you rush to post.The question is was she exempted(authority) from the law that prohibits one owning a Zambian and another countries passport.Was there disclosure on her part that she is a citizen of another country or she obtained the Zambian passport by false pretense.

  14. The Zambian law is straight forward. If you acquire citizenship of another country, you have automatically denounced your Zambian citizenship and cannot posses a Zambian passport. However, you are free to travel to Zambia on your foreign passport but have to obtain visa where required. I travel in and out of Zambia on my foreign passport and have never been hurrassed by immigration officials. In fact they joke about this “Canadian” with full Lozi names! All we need to do is to press for dual-citizenship in Zambia for us to regain our full rights as Zambian nationals. In the meantime, just obey the law.

  15. Most Zambians i know in diaspora have at least 2 passports. Just a friendly advice to those with 2 passports, when you go home mwakolwa please don’t start boasting about your other citizenship. keep them passports in your bombasa at all times and you’ll be fine, how easy it that?

  16. This state of affairs is comical. We seem to be worried about national security when we should be worried about ignorance. It is no wonder we end up in foreign hospitals being treated by Zambians with multiple nationalities…

  17. I think we have a problem with the judiary in Zambia the other day there was a judge who was saying 50 million kwacha compensation is outrageous today another one is doing something else..In Australia on the visa forms its clear one is asked to show all the citizenship’s they have no matter what number. And i have met people with three nationalities whats the problem with that.

  18. Wina was in court of law for producing a Sudanese passport in the 1980s .. Why too many passports for one person.. Many passport for one person is proon to criminality in developing countries as they tend to abuse them (passports)..

  19. she deserves twelve years with hard labour,honest people are queing in zambia and paying 5 million kwacha although they are born zambian to obtain aresidence permit and some woman with the love of foreign men tries to crook the system?its not fair 15years minimum

  20. Nothing strange about having multiple passports for other nations- we are still caught up in a time warp of archaic British laws restricting multiple nationalities.

  21. CNP indeed.In todays modern world tbis is not un usual.Its a norm but what is a norm else where is abnormal pa Zed.Ubututu tawakapwe.

  22. Ati ubututu… what are you talking about? In other countries there are laws that prohibit women from participating in sports or even enterprise in certain businesses and what do you call that?

    Laws are laws and they should be respected. No side-stepping and no by-passing. If our country does not permit it’s citizens to own more than one passport, that is that. It’s either you accept this law or you fight against it. Like the woman who is now incacerated, waiting for bail, you will soon learn that if you fight the law, the law always wins.

  23. Three passports with 3 different names  is not normal, if it was in USA, she would be on the way to Cuba. No country can allow a person with 3 different identities to enter their country, the world is at war with terrorists. If they cannot trust you to get on the plane without getting your shoes off, how do you expect them to trust you with 3 passports? This is why most countries are against dual nationality because of people like this woman, they abuse a good thing.

  24. I was not arrested for refusing to pay $30 for entry visa in my own country. I argued in Bemba, and flashed my NRC… I know my rights. Even an Ex-wife you are allowed ukucitako, its not adultery in the court of law.

  25. #25 msana wanzili, walasa boyi!!!!! common sense must prevail! that is one funny statement you made! but very very true. You know how funny those tuma immigration people at the airport can be, balitumpa ba fi colour!

  26. Nine Chale #36, always my favourite bogger because of your cool head and abundance of common sense. Boma ni Boma. And because there is hardly any due process pa zed one has to be a little more cautious of crossing The Law. Chale, lets chat soccer again sometime, my man.

  27. What #10 observer said is the real truth. The woman is just being fixed by Gunasse, just like he fixed one of his former managers. This is a man who has corrupted the whole system to the top. Half of our emeralds have landed in the hands of this man. I’m sure the magistrate too got a bribe from him.

  28. Leave the woman alone and concentrate on improving the welfare of the poor masses. She has done nothing wrong and the same goes for Iries Kaingu.

  29. The law is very clear that Zambia does not currently allow dual- citizenship.It`s unfortunate,for this woman that the Magistrate will make an example of her.If she wanted Canadian Citizenship,then she should have given up her Zambian citizenship.

  30. Thisis the law; i) When you acquire another citizenship, you need to renounce the Zambian one because Zambia does not allow you to have more than one. If you do not renounce, you still lose your Zambian citizenship automatically after three months (according to the Zambian Constitution) Having a passport from another country is evidence that you have acquired another nationality. The only qualm I have is, if it is automatic that you lose your Zambian citizenship three months of acquiring the other, the only reason you should be arrested is when you attempt to actually use the Zambian passport., or the Zambian passport was acquired AFTER your new nationality.

  31. Sec 55 of the Immigration and Deportation Act, 2010, under which she is charged states that it is an offence to be in possession of more than one passport without authority or entitlement to dual nationality – The law is still a bit hazy in this area. Since dual citizenship was abolished by Kaunda all those years ago, it has not been until recent times that many people have begun paying attention as to what it actually means. I sense a lot of gaps which can only be tested and challenged during actual cases such as this. There are very few laws that are ever straight forward.

  32. Stupid and useless case. What is wrong with the Zambian courts? Why are they wasting time persecuting women on rubbish charges instead of going after criminals crippling the nation because of institutional theft by those in Government.

  33. Ladies and gentlemen – let us not condemn for the sake of it. Look at the case critically – surely 3 passports with different identities and you think this is being ‘ubututu’ – that is the problem with us Zambians – we dont analyse issues all we like to do is condemn, condemn. Every country has laws and they ought to be followed. Just like in a home – we all have different ‘governments’ – in one home it is okay for a son or daughter to bring their boyfriends/girfriends home and even spend a night and in another it has to be a serious relationship – I like No. 36 and 37’s comments right on!!

  34. i learn a lot from all of your comment, but u should kn that some of us were born there and know we are no more leaving there..and we need our right.i spend my time to visit my brothers and sisters in west africa(senegal, mali) and most of them don’t have any passport but only have the ducm the used to traval. my point is b4 you fight people with 3 passport why can’t you a point an embassy in senegal or mali….

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