The Mississippi Supreme Court permanently revoked former Jackson Mayor Chokwe Lumumba’s law license on Oct. 15 as a result of his July 6 guilty plea in a federal felony case.
Lumumba’s disbarment comes after the Mississippi Bar Association filed a motion with the Mississippi Supreme Court on Aug. 3 asking that they immediately accept his irrevocable resignation, which was attached to the motion.
The July 6 guilty plea that spurred the Mississippi Bar Association’s request stemmed from a federal bribery charge related to a 2024 FBI sting targeting several high-profile Jackson officials.
Lumumba is the son of the elder Chokwe Lumumba, who was a civil rights attorney and activist, former Jackson city councilman and served as mayor from 2013 until his death in 2014. The younger Lumumba, also known as Chokwe A. Lumumba to distinguish him from his father, was elected mayor in his own right in 2017 and won reelection in 2021.
Lumumba was charged with bribery after a group of federal investigators posing as real estate developers approached Lumumba, then-Hinds County District Attorney Jody Owens and other Jackson-area officials in 2023, offering the group cash bribes in exchange for helping a hotel project along in the city’s bidding process. Investigators accused Lumumba of ordering a shortening of the bidding window in exchange for cash payments. Owens’ business, Downtown Cigar Company, was raided in May 2024.
As the case lingered, Lumumba lost his bid for a third term in the Democratic primary to John Horhn, who went on to become Jackson’s current mayor in the summer of 2025.
Lumumba, Owens and former Jackson City Councilman Aaron Banks would all change their original not guilty pleas to guilty. Lumumba pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit bribery, wire fraud and money laundering.
The Mississippi Bar Association’s initial July 10 complaint outlines Lumumba’s guilty plea and states that his decision to plead guilty to a felony charge should result in an immediate suspension of Lumumba’s ability to practice law in Mississippi. The argument in the July 10 complaint is based in Mississippi Rules of Discipline Rule No. 6, which focuses on suspension and disbarment of lawyers based on outside legal proceedings.
The formal complaint was the first step in the process outlined for disbarring lawyers under Rule 6. The other half of the process requires that the Mississippi Bar Association, or another party, file a motion for indefinite suspension of the legal license in question. Attorneys subject to such complaints are automatically suspended, pending appeals, Rule 6 states.
To comply with the disbarment order, Lumumba must inform all of his clients and relevant courts of his disbarment, properly disburse any funds he has in trusts and comply with the other rules for disbarred attorneys within 30 days of his disbarment, presiding Justice Josiah Dennis Coleman wrote in the order.
Lumumba is also required to give the court an affidavit confirming he informed all clients of his disbarment, alongside following the other rules set forth in Rule 12, within 45 days of his disbarment order, Dennis said in his order.
Other requirements under Rule 12 involve informing adverse parties involved in litigation with Lumumba’s clients of his disbarment, and being subject to monitoring by the Office of General Counsel to ensure compliance with the disbarment order.
In cases of irrevocable disbarments, like that of Lumumba, the Complaint Tribunal can appoint receivers for the limited purpose of making an inventory and disposing of the attorney’s files, cases and practice, Mississippi Rule 12 of Discipline says.
Lumumba may be subject to a motion of contempt of court if he does not apply with the rules set forth in his disbarment order.
While Mississippi Rule of Discipline 12 allows most disbarred attorneys to maintain their bar licenses for 30 days following a disbarment order, Lumumba’s disbarment was both immediate and permanent.
The Mississippi Supreme Court also disbarred Owens, on the same day Lumumba entered his guilty plea.
Former councilwoman Angelique Lee and Hinds County businessman Sherik Marve Smith also pleaded guilty to charges related to the sting.
The federal government intends to seek restitution in relation to this case, Assistant U.S. Attorney David Fulcher said at Lumumba’s July 6 plea hearing.
Lumumba could not be reached for comment.
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