The Mississippi Supreme Court permanently disbarred former Jackson Mayor Chokwe Antar Lumumba on Thursday, two months after he offered to surrender his law license. 

Lumumba, who did not immediately respond to a request for comment, is awaiting sentencing on a federal felony charge after pleading guilty to conspiracy to commit bribery in a case stemming from an FBI operation that ensnared multiple officials in Mississippi’s capital city.

Sentencing was initially scheduled for last month. U.S. District Judge Daniel P. Jordan III postponed the hearing to early November, but Lumumba’s attorneys are awaiting a ruling on a motion to further postpone the sentencing.

Lumumba was to be sentenced along with his co-defendants – former Hinds County District Attorney Jody Owens and former Jackson City Councilmember Aaron Banks. They each face up to five years in prison and fines of up to $250,000. 

Others involved in the scheme have also yet to be sentenced, including former Jackson City Councilmember Angelique Lee. 

In 2024, a sweeping federal indictment alleged that in exchange for $50,000 in campaign donations, Lumumba directed a city employee to shorten a bid deadline to benefit a pair of out-of-town developers that were working with Owens. 

Unknown to the local politicians, the developers were undercover FBI agents.