Human Rights Watch has issued a formal appeal to Zambian authorities demanding an immediate halt to what it describes as a severe and escalating crackdown on political opposition figures, journalists, and legal professionals. The campaign of intimidation intensified following President Hakainde Hichilema’s victory in the contested general elections held in August 2026.
In a report released on a Sunday, the international rights organization accused Zambian police and military personnel of engaging in serious abuses. According to the document, security forces forcibly disappeared, arbitrarily detained, physically assaulted, and threatened opposition members, supporters, lawyers, journalists, and outspoken government critics during the period surrounding the August vote.
“The post-election climate of intimidation, harassment, and repression has had a chilling effect on civic and political organizations, particularly on dissenting voices,” the organization stated.
Hichilema secured a second term in office following the August elections, an outcome swiftly challenged by critics who alleged widespread vote rigging. While the president was sworn into office at the National Heroes Stadium in the capital city of Lusaka, his primary political rival, Brian Mundubile, remained behind bars facing treason charges after asserting that the opposition had secured victory.
The clampdown extended directly into political residences. The day after the August 13 elections, police conducted a raid on Mundubile’s home. During the operation, Mutotwe Kafwaya, a former cabinet minister, was shot and killed. Human Rights Watch has urged authorities in Zambia to establish an independent, impartial, and thorough investigation into the killing.
Alongside the raid on Mundubile’s home and the detention of the primary challenger, approximately a dozen other opposition figures who questioned the election tally have been taken into custody. The rights group noted that authorities also shuttered the nation’s courts two weeks after the election—an action police defended as an “intelligence-led and preventive measure” while withholding specifics. This unexpected court closure effectively barred opposition parties from filing legal challenges to contest the electoral results.
Ashwanee Budoo-Scholtz, deputy Africa director at the rights organization, called on the national government to reverse course. “Zambia’s government should break this dangerous cycle of repression,” Budoo-Scholtz said. “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.”
