Zambia: Creatures of No Nation – The Case of Celestine Mukandila
Published: 5/Sep/2026
Source: Zambian Observer
By Patson Kasongo
Stranger than strange is to live among a people, to settle, to labor, to pay tax, to vote, to build schools and churches, and to make yourself believe you are one of them — only to be denied at the most unopportune time.
The case of Mr. Celestine Mukandila has shaken Zambia to its core and forced many citizens to ask a painful question: “Am I truly Zambian?”
If a man who served as Secretary General of Zambia’s largest opposition political alliance [TONSE] can have his nationality questioned, then who is safe?
1. BORN OF TWO NATIONS
In his own submission, Mr. Mukandila made it clear: his father is Congolese, and his mother is Zambian. That is the fact. That is the situation.
Mukandila is not an exception. He is one among millions. We live in an age of globalization. Borders are crossed daily for business, for education, for love. A Zambian mother marries a Kenyan man. A Zambian father marries a Tanzanian woman. A child is born in Lusaka to a South African father and a Zambian mother.
This is our reality.
To criminalize this reality is to criminalize the future of Zambia. To deny Mukandila on the basis of his father’s nationality is to tell every child of mixed heritage: “You are a guest in your own home.”
What message does that send to the diaspora?
What message does that send to investors, to spouses, to families?
Read further: https://zambianobserver.com/creatures-of-no-nation-the-case-of-celestine-mukandila/