Government has revoked the diplomatic passport it issued to Nigerian, Dozy Mmobuosi, in 2023.
The revocation comes a month after The New York Times reported that the United States Government proposed to put Malawi on the watch list for a potential travel ban because of the integrity of its passport, among other reasons.
While commending the revocation of the passport, commentators say it is not sufficient: Now government must flush out who issued the passport.
Minister of Homeland Security, Ezekiel Ching’oma has confirmed the withdrawal, citing legal ineligibility and administrative oversight.
He said the revocation is with immediate effect.
“He has since been informed, and all border authorities have been advised,” Ching’oma said.
According to him, the government is serious about realigning the integrity of the Malawian passport.
“It is a very critical document. That diplomatic passport has been withdrawn forthwith. We are also following up on officers involved in the issuance of the passport,” he said.
He said recently the Law Commission issued two reports — one the Immigration Act and on Passport & Citizenship Act as government seeks to improve the law governing issuance of passport.
“When cabinet and Parliament consider them, we will address the gaps comprehensively. At moment, the ministry is working hard to address these issues,” he said.
In a letter dated April 17, 2025, the Department of Immigration and Citizenship Services informed Mmobuosi, whose address is listed as 64 Eccleston Square, London, that the Diplomatic Passport No. MWD001502 had been “issued in error and contrary to the law.
“Please be advised that a Malawi diplomatic passport is issued exclusively to Malawian citizens.
“Our records confirm that you are a citizen of the Federal Republic of Nigeria… and that you have neither applied for nor been granted Malawi citizenship at any material time,” reads the letter, signed by acting Director General Macloud Kalindang’oma.
Mmobuosi has seven days to surrender the passport to the nearest Malawi diplomatic mission or risk legal consequences, including possible travel restrictions to Malawi.
The Nigerian appeared in Malawi at the time the country was in the grip of Cyclone Freddy aftermath.
He came to launch a housing project for families affected by the cyclone, an event he presided over together with former presidents Bakili Muluzi and Joyce Banda.
President Lazarus Chakwera has appointed Muluzi and Banda as ambassadors for Cyclone Freddy response initiatives.
At the launch of the project, Mmobuosi pledged to construct 100 houses.
Mmobousi features as CEO of a tech company, Tingo Group, which is mired in allegations of fraud.
Recently, the United States government placed Malawi on its watch list over the issuance of a diplomatic passport to Mmobuosi, who is wanted by the US government after being fined $250 million by a U.S. court for “massive financial fraud”.
It also placed Malawi on a Yellow List of countries with weak passport security measures.
Other media reports showed that Malawi’s inclusion on the list stemmed from concerns over its ability to share sufficient traveller information, lax passport security, and citizenship laws that may enable individuals from banned countries to obtain Malawian documentation.
The USA government had put Malawi on a 60-day deadline to address these concerns or risk being moved to the Orange List which would impose travel restrictions, or worse, the Red List which could result in a complete travel ban to the US.
Governance and corruption commentator Mavuto Bamusi said the issuance of the passport reflected the depth of corruption and state of capture of our public sector by cartels of dubious personalities and networks.
“Immediate investigations should be instituted to probe and identify government officials who influenced the issuance of the diplomatic passport,” he said.
He said that incident exposed how government had been infiltrated by fraudsters that are “abusing our public resources while Malawians experiencing poor service delivery”.
“Unfortunately, this incident goes a long way in damaging Malawi’s diplomatic relations with the US. Other countries may also lose confidence in Malawi’s passport whose image has been dented,” he said, calling for action on official involved in the matter.
Another commentator Charles Kajoloweka said the issuance of this particular passport was not necessarily an administrative oversight as Ching’oma puts it.
“It has been a culture in government to sell diplomatic passports to the highest bidder. Individuals in government are facilitating such deals. There is corruption behind the insurance of a diplomatic passport,” he said.
According to the Immigration Department website, the following are the ones entitled to a diplomatic passport
The President and the First Lady
The Vice President and the spouse
Former president and spouse
Former vice president and spouse
Chief Secretary to government
Deputy Chief Secretary
Former Chief Secretary
Cabinet ministers and their spouses
Speaker of the National Assembly and spouse
Members of Parliament
Clerk of Parliament
Diplomats and their spouses
Principal Secretaries
Army commander
Inspector General of Police
High Court and Supreme Court judges and their spouses
Director General of the National Intelligence Service
Chief Commissioner of Prisons
Director General for Immigration
Ombudsman
Law Commissioner
Leaders or religious and faith organisations
