In Zambia, six passports belonging to opposition figures, academics, and commentators were cancelled by government notice in September 2026, with no public explanation beyond a vague invocation of national security. Amnesty International has named this for what it appears to be: the use of administrative machinery not to protect a nation, but to immobilize its critics. The action arrives in the shadow of election-season arrests and a fatal shooting, placing it within a longer human story about how states have always sought to contain dissent — and how law, when it holds, can sometimes push bac
Zambia's passport cancellations of six critics spark human rights alarm
Six individuals had their travel and identification documents invalidated, restricting freedom of movement; broader context includes detention of opposition politician George Chisanga and fatal shooting of former minister Mutotwe Kafwaya.