Human Rights Watch Says Zambia Carried Out Post‑Election Crackdown After Aug. 13 Vote

Human Rights Watch said in a report published Sunday that Zambia’s police and military carried out a broad crackdown in the days before and after the country’s Aug. 13 general election, documenting what it said were apparent enforced disappearances, arbitrary detentions, beatings and politically charged treason cases against opposition figures and critics. The report lands weeks after Zambia won a seat on the U.N. Human Rights Council, whose members are expected to uphold high standards in protecting rights.

The rights group said it documented 14 cases that appeared to be enforced disappearances, 61 cases in which detainees or their lawyers or relatives alleged beatings or other violent abuse, 71 cases of arbitrary arrest or detention, and 18 people charged with treason, including two who also faced sedition charges. President Hakainde Hichilema was reelected in the Aug. 13, 2026, vote, which Human Rights Watch said election observers reported was marred by irregularities, including a suspension of counting and limits on fundamental freedoms.

Human Rights Watch also said that from Aug. 24 to Aug. 28, authorities suspended judicial services and cordoned off court premises, preventing legal challenges to the presidential result. Police said at the time the closures were an “intelligence-led and preventive measure.”

A central example in the report is the Aug. 14 raid on the Lusaka home of Brian Mundubile, an opposition leader. During that operation, former minister Mutotwe Kafwaya was fatally shot. Police Inspector General Graphel Musamba later said officers in a “joint intelligence-led operation” encountered “gunfire and resistance from unknown individuals” that “prompted officers to return fire.”

Human Rights Watch said public officials initially gave conflicting accounts, with police first denying there had been a raid and denying Mundubile was in custody before later acknowledging a joint operation. The group said Kafwaya’s fate was not publicly confirmed until Aug. 19, after his wife filed a habeas corpus petition, a court action used to challenge unlawful detention or demand that authorities produce a detained person.

Mundubile was later arrested and charged with treason. His running mate, Makebi Zulu, was also charged with treason and seditious practices. Human Rights Watch said a charge sheet alleged the two men had gone on Facebook Live on Aug. 14 and said the opposition had won the election. The group said the use of treason charges against opposition figures was part of a broader post-election crackdown.

The report also highlighted the case of 43 opposition election monitors detained on Aug. 14. Their lawyers said their whereabouts were unknown for eight days and that police denied holding them. A court in Lusaka ordered their immediate release on Sept. 10, and Human Rights Watch said lawyers reported that many had visible injuries when they were finally able to see them.

Human Rights Watch said authorities have not publicly disclosed the total number of arrests made during the crackdown or all the charges filed, raising concerns that the number detained could be higher than publicly known. Zambia’s Human Rights Commission, a state body, said on Sept. 3 that it was following 84 election-related detainees and had observed a pattern that included prolonged detention, delayed notification of charges, restricted access to family and lawyers, and failures to bring detainees promptly before court.

International scrutiny mounted even before the Human Rights Watch report. On Sept. 2, U.N. Special Rapporteur Gina Romero called on the authorities to “release all political detainees, respect fundamental freedoms, and restore democratic accountability.” Zambia’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation rejected that criticism as “inaccurate, undiplomatic and falling short of the standards of objectivity, moderation and discretion expected of UN mandate holders.”

The ministry also said, in comments cited by Human Rights Watch, that opposition party membership “does not place a person beyond the reach of the law, nor does it convert a criminal suspect into a political detainee… The government is committed to ensuring that these protections are respected in every case, and Zambia’s courts are open to test them.”

Ashwanee Budoo-Scholtz, Human Rights Watch’s deputy Africa director, said, “Zambia’s government should break this dangerous cycle of repression… The authorities should immediately halt the ongoing post-election crackdown, allow access to lawyers and provide medical care for those in detention, release everyone arbitrarily detained, and ensure accountability for abuses by security forces.”

Under Zambian law and international human rights law, detainees have the right to be promptly informed of charges, to have access to lawyers and medical care, and to be brought before a court without undue delay. Those standards are central to the criticism from Human Rights Watch and Zambia’s Human Rights Commission — and to the significance of Zambia’s election on Oct. 13 to serve on the U.N. Human Rights Council for 2027 to 2029.