‘Nothing wrong with 2 passports pinned together’
By Mast Reporter
FORMER chief passport officer Emmanuel Tembo has told a Lusaka magistrates’ court that there was nothing wrong for Lusaka businessman Harry Findlay to have two passports pined together.
This is in a matter in which Findlay is facing two counts of possessing more than one passport, the allegation he has denied.
In the first count, Findlay is accused of acquiring a Zambian passport number ZP 021382 purporting to have lost a passport number ZP 013259 when in fact not.
In the second count, it’s alleged that on the same date, Findlay possessed a forged Mwami Immigration border control stamp in his passport number ZP 032178 purporting that it was officially endorsed by officers from the Immigration Department when in fact not.
Testifying before Lusaka principal resident magistrate Sylvia Munyinya, Tembo, who is now a director at Cabinet Office, and had worked at the Passports Office for over 20 years explained how one got a passport when it was full, expired, lost and if it had an error in it.
Tembo said Findlay was issued with another passport after the first one got finished, but had a valid American visa which could be used together with the new one.
When asked by defence lawyer Milner Katolo under what circumstances a person could hold two passports in Zambia, Tembo said no one could have two passports at the same time but could only hold two when the first one was full and still had a valid visa pined together with a new passport.
Katolo asked Tembo why the immigration officers pinned the passports together, to which he responded that it was because of the fear of losing or leaving one behind.
He said in circumstances where the passport was expired, full or an error was made in it during the renewal, it was given back, except a diplomatic passport which was surrendered back to passport office.
Katolo said Findlay had complied with all the requirements when he was issued with the new passport.
Tembo said before Findlay was issued with the new passport, officers did their work thoroughly to investigate the conditions on which the new passport was going to be issued.
