AUGUSTINE MUKOKA writes;
[LONG READ] Understanding The Intricacies Of Stoppila Sunzu’s Immigration Debacle
The wee hours raid on the home of 2012 Africa Cup winner Stoppila Sunzu’s parents in Chilibabombwe has been a subject of immense public discourse the last seven days.
Social media is inundated with varying versions of the circumstances emanating from an operation carried out on Monday, December 13, 2021 by the Department of the Zambian Immigration.
Zambian Immigration spokesperson Namati Nshinka says the raid on the home of Sunzu’s father was a routine operation carried out in the border town with 20 others apprehended on the night.
“Mr. Felix Nsunzu, together with five (05) members of his household, was picked by the officers after he failed to produce documentation to prove his legal immigration status,” read part of the statement by Nshinka.
Stoppila Sunzu issued a statement from his base in China giving the side of the family’s story informing the nation the operation was carried out at about 2 AM.
According to him, the officers who descended on their family home breached the securing fence; forced themselves in before they were ushered into the house where they interrogated the occupants, including Mr. Sunzu Snr, after which they bundled them into a vehicle to the Immigration offices.
Sunzu also set the record straight on a few things including dismissing the widely circulated audio which contained a voice of a man whom people claimed was his father. The player denied allegations that his father was harboring prohibited immigrants who had overstayed after travelling from the Democratic Republic of Congo for his mother’s funeral.
In view of the information I have gathered, the facts are as follows:
Stoppila’s father is originally Congolese who relocated to Zambia to further his football career.
Mr. Sunzu Snr joined Konkola Blades as goalkeeper between 1989 to 1993 and played for the border town outfit until retiring from active football in the early 2000s.
Sunzu Snr married a woman whose father was Zambian and lived with her until she passed away on September 10, 2021. Simply put, Stoppila’s maternal grandfather was Zambian.
However, circumstances surrounding the family’s immigration status suggest the Department of Immigration has refused to recognize Stoppila’s father and mother as Zambians.
Here is the agony.
Denying Stoppila’s parents Zambian citizenship has implications on the children.
The Zambian constitution does not grant automatic citizenship to anyone born in the country.
According to Art 35 of the Zambian constitution as amended in 2016, a child born in Zambia can only assume automatic citizenship if one of the parents at the time of the child’s birth is/was Zambian.
However, a child born in Zambia but whose parents are not Zambian has the chance to register as a Zambian citizen when he or she turns 18 years old.
In Stoppila’s case, the implication of declaring his parents foreigners is that when Zambia won the Africa Cup of Nations, the scorer of the winning penalty was not a Zambian citizen and therefore ineligible to play for Chipolopolo at the time.
Furthermore, it follows that Zambia’s 2017 Under-20 Africa Cup of Nations win and subsequent qualification to the FIFA World Cup in South Korea is null and void because in that team, Stoppila’s younger brother Ngosa was ineligible by operation of the Zambian constitution.
How then did we drop the guard?
When I wrote on the issue a few days ago, I said it was both a national disgrace and an expose of who we are – a bunch of ingrates.
Yes, we are. And here is why.
To obtain a National Registration Card (NRC) which we colloquially refer to as a “REG”, a 16-year-old child must be accompanied by one of his parents or legal guardian who must prove their Zambian citizenship.
How did Stoppila, Ngosa and their other siblings – who have even played for teams sponsored by security wings – obtain their NRCs and Zambian passports if the Department of Immigration is suggesting both their parents have always been Congolese?
Can the Department of Immigration tell Zambians the details on the NRCs for these players?
Both Stoppila and Ngosa have featured for Zambia’s junior national teams and must have applied for the Form B passport which is a travel document issued to minors.
To obtain the said travel document, a child’s parents or legal guardian must meet at least the following requirements (1., a duly completed Application Form B (Annex 5); 2., a duly completed Affidavit/Affirmation Form M (Annex 5); and 3., a duly completed Application Barcode Form).
In addition, all forms for applicants below the age of 16 years must be completed by a parent or legal guardian.
The supporting documents required are as follows; (i., a Certified copy of Birth Certificate or Affidavit of Birth; ii., a Certified copy of National Registration Card (NRC) of parent or legal guardian; iii. a Copy of the previous travel document, (if any); iv., a Copy of valid Zambian Passport of parent/s or legal guardian; v., a Sworn General Affidavit of Consent (by parent or guardian); vi., a Proof of payment (Receipt of the fee to be attached); and vii., two (2) passport size photographs.)
So who provided consent for Stoppila’s travel documents? His parents? Was their citizenship doubted, confirmed or disputed at the time?
Insisting on the current narrative that the parents of Stoppila are not Zambian brings an entire system into question.
And that is why we must tread carefully to avoid throwing the reputation of our country into tatters even in the wake of the inadequacies exposed by our authorities.
By the way, this is the same Immigration Department that issued Heritier Binene Sabwa aka Walter Bwalya with a Zambian passport when all evidence pointed to him being Congolese.
And a few years after they declared Walter Bwalya a Zambian, the man literally peed on his new found Zambian status by accepting an invitation to play for the Congo national team!
Colleagues, this is not about which political opinion you or me hold.
We have to accept that the Department of Immigration bungled the Sunzu issue and have been complicit and inconsistent on many similar issues before where players with known foreign heritage have donned Zambian colours from time immemorial.
From the time Zambia got her independence until the time we won the 2012 Africa Cup and Under-20 Africa Cup in 2017, football followers will tell you players with Congolese, Malawian and Tanzanian heritage, for example, have played for Zambia.
For instance, why didn’t the immigration department move with the same speed on the cases of Matthews ‘Papa’ Kamwashi aka Kanku Mulekelayi or Felix Mwamba who later reverted to Felix Muamba when he went back to DRC yet they were embraced as Zambians whilst here?
How many more raids, if any, has the immigration carried out Mr. Sunzu Snr for the period he’s been in Zambia aimed at ascertaining his status; why now – what are the odds?
This whole latest operation has the potential to cause one of the biggest scandals by the Zambian government. It brings into question the competence of an entire system.
Instead of trying to play smart, the best is to admit the inadequacies in this episode and posthumously restore Stoppila’s mother’s citizenship after which his father can also be awarded citizenship.
Otherwise, if through the immigration department, the entire Zambian security machinery is convinced the Sunzu’s are foreigners, it’s high time the Ministry of Foreign affairs wrote to CAF to forfeit the 2012 and 2017 Africa Cups because Zambia, per our constitution, used foreigners to win the two continental titles. How about that?